Illegal Freedom
by Fro Ninja
Summary: "Freedom is the absence of chains." A firm belief held strong by escaped slave Huey Freeman. Now he has dedicated his life to the way of the samurai under the tutelage of The Number Two.But when they receive a suicide mission that involves escorting a princess from a foreign country,young Huey realizes that the freedom he has taken for himself, comes with a price.
1. Chapter 1

**Fro Ninja; Hi guys. It's the Fro Ninja here, with another entry. So now I'm going to be trying out a new series, which I had originally planned out for a one shot, but because I kept coming up with ideas for, I decided to expand upon it. Just a quick background, this takes place in a setting inspired by the late years of the Japanese Edo period, but not exactly set in that traditional era, so please don't be surprised if there is some modernized taste to the story, i.e. dialogue, characters, and settings. Anyway, without further ado, let's get started!**

 _ **Somewhere in the Nagano prefecture**_

 _ **Third Person perspective.**_

 **The wind flew past on this short tree, and clear blue sky remained as dull as ever to the young hero to be.**

Even though a mere apprentice, the young man has already managed to gain the wisdom that lies beyond his years. He sat on the bark of the tree, overlooking the entire valley with pack of small fruit by his side, planted neatly next to his sword. His eyes remained closed to the world, while his heart was absolutely open to all else. After all, such is the way of the samurai to have a keen sense of everything around, and being a boy of ten years old is no exception to the rule.

His hair bristled up and flowed as the wind came around yet again. His arms and legs come together as his mind belonged in a trance. He had meditating for the past day now, eager to find at least some kind of sign of the so called 'destiny' that awaited him. Such were the words of several of the people he knew, including his grandfather and his own brother, all with disapprovals toward his choice in life. From going the life of an incarcerated slave, to an escapee, to poor farm boy, now to a penniless wandering swordsman's apprentice. But of course, what else could a young man of color hope to aspire to be in a foreign land such as this? He often said to himself. This was the best thing. Yes.

"Huey- _dono!_ " A voice could be heard at the bottom of the hill coming up to his position. A young boy with flushed face ran up to Huey, flustered and out of breath from the long run that stretched easily over mile or so.

"Yes, Caesar? What is it?" Huey spoke softly to his attendant, despite still being in a deep trance. He has learned to do so by separating his sense of self along his sense to everything else around him. Meaning he could still hold a conversation with someone while still deep in his meditation. His master referred to it as simply being the center-point of everything, as the universe flows through you.

"Afro- _sensei_ has called you back! He has said that you have been gone far too long for a simple meditation session."

"It's because of him, I'm here in the first place. He told me to look inside myself to see where I lie as his apprentice, and as a samurai."

"Yes indeed he did. But then he said, and I quote "Not to randomly go the deepest part of the valley to take a nap for a day." To be honest sir, he kind of meant you should just...take a walk or something for a few hours and head back. We were supposed to report back yesterday for our new assignment."

After listening to his prattle, young Huey opened his, and returned from his trance. As he stood up from his seat, and grabbed his sword, he looked over the valley for second time, or possibly his third time. He sighed deeply.

"Is something the matter, Huey- _dono_?" Caesar looked puzzled.

"It's only been two years since I left my family and became the apprentice to the Number Two samurai. I still feel like I have so much to learn despite seeing so much in my travels."

"One would normally think that even the greatest of adventurers has seen the entire world on their journeys, and that they would know themselves as well the world around them."

"That's a misconception. An adventurer sets out because they wish to discover the part they could not during their many years growing up, and their times of self-identification. But there are still adventurers that could explore every corner of the world and turn over every stone for the purpose of self-discovery, and yet still not find even a hint of their true selves. Then their need to travel becomes vain and empty to them, and becomes their only method of coping when it comes to dealing with their problems. To run away from them.

I still remember the life I had before coming here, and despite not traveling anywhere, I was informed of its purpose several times every time a whip cracked my flesh. Now, because of my new life, I've been given a new purpose, but I'm still nowhere close to figuring it out."

"Isn't it your duty as a samurai, to fulfill the needs of others though?"

Huey scoffed.

"What need is there for a wandering foreign that is loyal to no lord? He's as useful as the powder used to clean his blade. To be used once, and simply cast aside until a new one comes along."

"...I see you've been reading satirical haikus again..."

"Eh, its a passtime."

"Dynamite- _dono_ always said to never trust somebody that puts a philosophical message on a piece, and say they're right. It's always 'think' you're right."

" There are no such things as good ideas? Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

Caesar shrugged. "I'm not the one who said it...In any case, we really should be heading back now."

Huey nodded to his attendants idea, and so picked up his sword and began to walk down the hill. As he took his steps, the wind began to blow even furiously. The young one picked up on this as he looked out at the clear blue sky, and saw that strange events were about to occur. Ones that would most likely be the answer the questions he had been seeking these past few years as a warrior.

 **An hour later, back at the camp below the valley.**

Huey and Caesar managed to navigate through the forest safely, but not without coming upon the notice of several traps laid about in the clearing. Snares, foot traps, and rope captures. All essentials to a survivalists expeditions. Soon the two came upon the white tent set up below the valley's surface, right near a crystal clear lake. Despite them making it back, there was little to no sign of a person's presence to be found anywhere in the area. Huey's first instinct had him immediately go on guard, by having his sword directly in his grasp, and going directly into a defensive stance.

"Huey- _dono_?" Caesar looked puzzled at his sudden reaction.

"Shhhh. Quiet..." Huey slowly scanned the area with his eyes, and dragged his feet around the campsite. There were barely any signs of disturbance among the flora. Not a single creature stirred either despite they're being signs of a fresh fire, warm blankets, and pure tent along to match. Something was definitely wrong here. "Hmmm...this feels like..."

" _ **SUEY!"**_

"Caesar, look out!"

And just like that, the young apprentice's instincts were right on point, as a sharp voice was belayed out from the thick bushes coming from the forests. In that instant, Huey quickly turned around with his steel bared in front of him, to find it met with the steel of another. The two blades remained in a deadlock for a few seconds.

"Huey- _dono!_ Wait! That's-"

Suddenly the opponent's blade went for a deathblow, by giving out sharp center stabs from the tip, all of which Huey was able to dodge with ease. Eager to go on the offensive, the young samurai jumped up high in the air and came down with a vertical slice ontop of his opponents sword, which was cleanly blocked.

Still seeking the opportunity, young Huey continues with his string of air attacks that came from right to left, all of which were blocked by his adversary. Seeing a whole in his string, they quickly launch a surprise horizontal slash towards Huey's side. Thinking quickly, Huey rotated in midair, and planted his foot down in the middle of the attack, landing cleanly on the blade. He then slid down along the curve to deliver a blinding kick with his foot to his adversary's face, which unfortunately was grabbed by a hand at the last minute, and ended being thrown a few feet away from him.

He quickly managed to recover from his rolling fall, by launching off of his back and stopped his trajectory by stabbing his sword in the ground, going back immediately into his defensive stance. Pretty soon, a heart snort came from his opponent, who then nodded in approval.

"Hmph! Not bad for the apprentice of the Number Two!"

Huey sighed as he he sheathed his blade.

"Black Dynamite, how many times are going to try and kill me to try and signify the point that I'm insignificant as a swordsman compared to your unrivaled swagger?"

"As many times as it takes young brotha! Where in the beejeezus, did you run off to last night?! We couldn't find you for days!"

"Sensei told me reflect on what I wanted to do as a swordsman, and reflect on my destiny as a samurai and what can it meant to me."

"He told you to take a walk, and think about your future boy!"

Caesar then got between the two, trying to calm both of them down.

"Please sirs, please! Can you not do this is front of the Number Two? You are disturbing him."

Huey and B.D. then turned around to find Afro sitting against a tree a few feet away. His expression was as concrete and indifferent as always. The wind blew past his flowing hair and white Number two headband as he finished chewing on an apple. Huey walked up to his master and bowed respectfully to him.

"Sensei. I've returned from my meditation. I have thought deeply about what you asked me to, but I still have yet to find the answer. I don't know whether or not I'm ready to be the warrior you want me to be just yet. If it's all right with you, I would like to remain an apprentice just a little longer, just until I finally sort things out. I also hoped that I can-"

Afro then held his hand out, interrupting the sentence of his young apprentice in the seems. He then pulls out a blunt and starts to smoke. He took about two puffs before he started to speak again.

"I told you to look inside of yourself, and discover your purpose as a samurai, and reevaluate yourself as my apprentice. It's been 2 years since you followed me from your home, leaving your brother and grandfather behind. Do you feel you've made any progress since then?"

"I'm sure I've made progress in this field."

"Is that right?"

" _Hai, sensei_. I am ready for the trials that await me."

"We shall see soon enough. For now, we must report back back to headquarters for our next assignment."

B.D. Then kicked a nearby tree in frustration.

"AW MAN! Don't tell me that we gotta get orders from that fake honky again?! I swear everytime that boy speaks, I gotta make sure I hold up a mirror to make sure my mouth isn't moving! It's absolutely ridiculous! What white man you know sounds like that?!"

Caesar walked over to gather up camp equipment, while Huey decided to clean his sword before they would leave. Afro took a few more puffs before getting up out of his spot to calm B. Dynamite from his rant. The sound of the rushing waterfall went off in the background as everyone else was performing their own duties. A few minutes later, everybody else had gathered all of their belongings. Before they got ready to move, Afro had pulled Huey aside.

"Yes _sensei_?"

"Here." Afro then handed the young man a long white headband. He gazed at it with awe and surprise as it was made in a similar fashion to his own."It is the official seal that you are my student. You will not be able to hide that fact, nor should you do that, in the first place. But know that with this headband , people will know that your teacher is the Number Two, and so will consider you an similar threat to that of myself. But I am positive that you will be able to come to terms with it"

"Are you saying that it will be my responsibility to succeed the title of the Number Two someday?" Huey said as he tied the headband around.

Afro then karate chopped his apprentice in the forehead, still keeping a straight face.

"...Don't get too hasty. You still have to kill me first..."

Even while rubbing his head in pain, he still looked up to his master in admiration. and Caesar then signaled them over to proceed back on their path. They all began to walk casually through the forest while wind blew even stronger as they departed. Soon after they left the campsite, a figure with flowing white hair and sunglasses appeared in the tree, with a presence that made it seem like he was always there. He took several puffs out of his blunt while blowing the smoke out of his nose, and taking up a cunning smile.

"Damn Afro. What the hell is you thinking man?!" He then took another puff of his blunt. "You know to high hell and back that boy ain't ready! This world ain't kind to nobody, especially a young nigga that ran away from the white man when he was just a babe. How you goin act in a country that has no home for a brother with a sword?"

 **Two hours later**

 **At the Coffee and Cream company**

"DAMN!" A hoarse voice sounded off in the small building that sat in the middle of a busy intersection of a small village. The voice came from a caucasian looking man with dark red hair and a money grubbing scowl. Despite his though his voice was one that would often deceive people despite his appearance. He walked around in a loose business suit, with a open neck shirt and rolled up dress pants, along with a steel chain around his neck and silver hoop earrings to match the style. He took a big swig of the giant bottle of sake that sat near his desk, and then returned to his seat in the middle of the room, where his grandfather's three employers had been seated in lotus positions, waiting for him to calm down from his outburst. He called himself an avid businessman, the villagers called him a loud white man, others referred to him as Ed Wuncler the Third."So you mean to tell me that it took you muthafuckas THREE DAYS, to get back from a simple pay and order assignment out west?! What the fuck?! I mean, it's not like I asked you niggas to get me a sugar cookie from Edo, or some shit! I just asked you to give a sick muthafucka's wife some medicine in the next village over, and it took you three days to do it?! That's three days worth of muthafuckas that came in here, askin for help and shit, and you niggas was nowhere to be found! I mean...WHAT THE FUCK?!"

All three of them remained silent in the badgering, as it was all true. Save for B.D., who was on the edge of teeming anger.

"Listen up you belligerent honky. We did as you asked okay?! It's not our fault when shit like this hits the fan. I mean it's bad enough that we barely get business, but the fact that a family of white men set up a delivery business in a foreign country, not knowing what the damn place is called, or what language they speak, might be discouraging to some if not all."

"Whatchu sayin it was a bad idea?"

"Of course it was a bad idea! Do you know how confused people get when they see black sounding white boy in a business suit giving orders to three brothers with swords? Every part of it is bad."

"Now see, there's yo problem Black Dynamite. You don't have enough confidence in the vision of this whole thang! You trying to make it seem like it's an abomination that should never be in fucking cognitive thought, when Granddaddy says we're getting along just fine."

"If by getting along fine, you mean running favors for farmers and barely making five ryo doing so, then yeah, I say we're doing splendid so far!"

The room suddenly became silent.

"Are you being sarcastic with me?" Ed Wuncler asked with taking another sip of his sake.

"Of course I'm being sarcastic ya jive turkey! This is a horrible prospect! Even little Huey and brother Afro here agree that this is some bullshit!" Huey and Afro pondered the thought for about a few seconds, and then looked away into space as if to feign ignorance. "Come on! You cannot sit here and just accept that this is good business practice."

"Does it matter?" Afro spoke calmly. "As long as we get money from the work that we do, what is there to complain about?"

"There's plenty to complain about! What samurai are supposed to do, is help people in the name of honor, glory, and all that othr bullshit! This is just servitude! Wasn't the reason we got out of that pisshole of a country was to find something different in our lives. To make sure we wouldn't have to be tied down to what some fat honky tells us to? Afro, you were the only one who came from a different walk of life, since you were the only brother here that was actually raised in this country, you don't think you should be doing more of an effort to help the people out in their time of need, when they need it?!"

Afro stood up from his seat and looked at in the face with unwavering eyes.

"What use is there defending the people of a country that is seeking to abandon their own identity for the sake of foreign influence? In these kinds of situations where everything is aimed towards change, money is the only thing you can rely in times such as these."

"It's BECAUSE it's times like these that the people need us more than ever. What makes you think we're going to get anywhere with some ignorant jackass like this one leading us at the helm?!"

"You muthafuckers!" Ed Wuncler slammed his bottle on his desk, taking out a knife from one of the drawers and then attempted to throw it at . In that moment, Huey grabbed the knife as it darted straight forward toward his face at the last second, and then put it in the confines of his robes. "...Yeah...uh...you go ahead and keep that, but yall might take a different tone you find out the job I'm about to lay down on ya, and I guarantee, it's going put us up to da big time." All three of them stared at their employer with doubtful eyes as he strolled around the room with a gleeful face and a piece of parcel in his hand."I tell you what, those sweaty Nobunaga bastards over there in Owari wish they had a job this hot! I'm telling you man, we sitting on a gold mine with this job!"

"Can you just tell us what the goddamn job is before I have to snatch the piece of paper out your hands?"

"Okay, okay, okay. So get 'dis right? A country to the west of here is supposed to sending a foreign diplomat here in a few days to discuss negotiations with the emperor about opening up a trading post with the local businesses to try and make some dough. If everything goes smoothly, other countries besides Uncle Sam will be able to exchange goods with Japan freely and shit. Your job, is to escort the diplomat safely to the capital, safe and sound. Safely. You feel me?"

Huey spoke up after pondering the description. "Wait. Another country is seeking trade negotiations with the capital? Is that even allowed? The emperor just admitted foreign trading policies not that long ago, and white people are already beginning to flood the capital. Why would they risk bringing in another country for that purpose, let alone an unknown one at that?"

"Most likely the emperor wants to prove that Japan has learned a lot from its isolation by attempting to manage foreign diplomacy. When you spend the majority of your life by yourself and on the other side of the fence, you start to think about things little Huey." Black Dynamite gripped his fist with passion as he spoke.

"Yeah! What he said and shit! Now, they haven't gotten back to us yet on how much in total they were gonna pay us for this job, but the estimate that they sent over to us is about...let's see..." Ed Wuncler then took out an abacus and started to fiddle with it. His eyes strained as he moved it back and forth and up and down, without actually knowing how to use it. "Carry...the one...multiply by...man this is some bullshit! I'll shoot the beejezus out the mothafucka that invented this damn thing!" He then looked at the three and held his hand toward them."What the hell might I ask is wrong with using yo hand to count?! Look how simple dat shit is! One, two, four, five! That shit is easy! Then some hairless son of a bitch had to go and make it complicated and whatnot! Man! I can't believe this! This is some grade A..." While Ed Wuncler ranted on, the three watched in horror at what they were witnessing. A white man, who couldn't perform simple math. Tragic, they thought.

In the middle of it, Caesar came over with a piece of paper taken out from his knapsack and handed it to the samurai.

"Here you go sirs. I guessed this sort of thing would happen, and so I prepared an estimate based on my own calculations ahead of time."

Afro looked at Caesar with stern eyes. "So you knew about this?"

"Yes I did. But I was under strict orders from Wuncler- _sama's_ father to not disclose the information until you arrived back from your mission. Technically speaking, the request for the escort came in about a few days ago while we were on the previous assignment. I'm certain he was being considerate and didn't want to distract you from your current itienerary."

grunted. "Distracted nothing! That honky is always springing things on us at the last second. It's the reason why we can barely get any work done with the requests that we already get!"

Huey took a look at the estimate. After glossing over it for a few seconds, his tired eyes flashed with vigor.

"Are you serious? This much, for a simple escort to the capital?"

"Yes. And that is only a rough estimate. They have even agreed for a down payment of 6,000 ryo."

"Just who is this 'diplomat' that we're supposed to be protecting?"

"Apparently, they are a person of great influence back in their country and commands large role within international affairs I'm told, but I haven't been told anymore than that unfortunately."

"So since we're being told last minute about this, when are we supposed to ship out on the job?" asked Caesar.

"You will have to ask Wuncler- _sama_ about those details, for I am afraid I don't have all of the answers myself."

turned around to see Ed Wuncler still arguing with himself. By now, he has already made about four holes in the wall, from his unbridalded rage. His arms flailed around like that of a child as they struck pretty much everything in sight, from furniture to people.

"Can somebody stop this fool before he hurts himself, and we end up out of a job?"

Afro then walked over the raging Ed, and with a quick movement of his hand, he quickly withdrew his blade and brandished it to his face, with the steel practically kissing his neck. In that moment, Ed had ceased his behavior, and calmed down from his rage, with him swallowing furiously from the reflection the blade gave him of his clean face.

"...Calm down."

"Shit! Aight, aight. Imma stop! But y'all get my point when it comes to people that keep on fuckin with me!"Afro then sheathed his blade and walked back over to his spot. Soon after catching his breath of relief, Ed walked back to his ruined desk and sat back down, and regained his somewhat calm posture."Anyway. Dis job also entails certain risks that you guys might need to be aware of."

"Those risks being?" Huey asked.

"Once you start escorting this foreign diplomat, everything and everybody that has a line of rational thought will be after them. Trying to kill em and hang them up by their intrails. You know on some graphic as hell shit."

"Is that right?"

"It's indeed correct. Not only that, according to our scouts, there have been numerous sightings of bandits and local ronin spotted in the local area that have been attacking a number of passerbys and killings. Word is that a large group of escaped prisoners have formed a gang, and even set up a blockade on the path going towards the capital, also add to the fact there are bound to be some corrupt government officials trying to make sure that the diplomat doesn't reach the emperor by the appointed date, which is three days. Even the local shogun has taken an interest in this affair. Preparing soldiers easily exceeding over the hundreths scale." Caesar said with a grim face. Before long, the room had filled with a brooding aura, with everyone remaining silent. Only the serene sounds of the outside could counted as their attitudes toward the mission, and how this would play out for them.

"...So...this is..." Huey hesitated to finish the sentence, knowing what the end result was.

"Yes. Basically speaking, it's a suicide mission."

Everyone pondered the description with silence. A single escort mission that drew many risks for simply existing in its entirety. No survival was guaranteed. The choice was simple if one look at it in that manner of thinking. Simply bring whoever was to be protected to the capital for trade negotiations, avoiding all possible dangers within the duration of three days. The company that the worked for, wasn't exactly known for their quality of getting jobs done, nor reeling in jobs that produced effective amount of pay, but they had to receive income in some form or manner. It was no luxury at all, simply a means to keep their mouths fed, and to keep their ever yearning sword arms sated in the best way possible. While they didn't have much understandable reason to refuse the job, they were ultimately given the choice of how to proceed. Even though it didn't seem like that first.

Out of everyone in the room, the only one that would truly be called to consider his options was young Huey. Despite walking the path of the warrior, he had been remained at several turns that he is still a boy that possess his entire life in front of him. He then recalled something Afro told him during the first year of being his apprentice. _A warrior has the gift of two senses. To be able to face any fight and challenge with unwavering will and strife. And to be able to predict the outcome of any fight just by reading the air around his opponent and the environment. The minute you're able to do this, you can take any action that you deem worthy of taking._

"Well? Whatcha y'all wanna do?" Ed asked all of them as they pondered their options.

grunted with confidence. "Well, it's something that makes us money right? What's the worst that could happen to us than what we went through before we came here? I just gotta make a few arrangments to make sure nothing goes wrong back home while I'm gone. Afro, Lil Huey. I'm gonna leave you to it."

"Wait, are we taking the job?" Huey asked.

"Well I know I am. The Whorphanage isn't making money like it's supposed to, so I gotta figure out a bigger supply before the landlord runs us out, and I'm gonna make damn sure that doesn't happen. Plus, I know Afro is gonna be coming along, ain't you?" glared at Afro who had been silently pondering himself. He then returned his glare with a stern expression, and simply nodded. "Alright then. I'm gonna head out on my way. I'll see you jive turkeys tomorrow!"

After that he walked out of the office and went on his way.

"Aight! Then that's that! See you muthafucka's tomorrow at 7 sharp! Now if you don't mind, I got some geishas coming here in about an hour, so make yo asses scarce! Caesar, you know!"

Caesar bowed in acknowledgement and escorted them both out. "Well then, I will see you gentlemen tomorrow then at the gate. The charge will be coming within the hour, so please be prepared."

 **Outside of the office.**

Once they stepped out of the building, the sun had already begun to set beyond the horizon. The organge glow had filled the sky with a rich sense of enlightenment to some, as it signified the end of a fulfilling day for merchants and farmers brought in their reins and triumphs for the day as they as all began to head home to their families. Afro and his young apprentice gazed out toward the sunset as it beamed into their eyes.

"Sensei. What should we do now? Are we going to train some more?"

Afro silently shook his head, and pointed off in the distance.

"...Go home to your family. You may never see them again after this mission."

"With all due respect sensei, me and my family aren't exactly on the best terms as of late, especially when it comes to my dedication for the sword. They don't believe that believe a boy, let alone a young **black** boy, could ever be something other than what he was born into. I told my grandfather what I wanted to do with myself, but he didn't want any further explanation other than the obvious. In truth, I don't even know if I deserve to see them again after breaking away from the rules they set for me. I'd feel better just passing along the next morning without having to-"

All of a sudden, Afro struck Huey in his face, launching him a couple a feet from his position. He held his face together and tasted the blood that ran down his mouth, as his teacher looked upon him with unwavering eyes. Despite taking a strike that could knock an average man unconcious, he simply stood up from the dirt with an amicable demeanor, and returned his master's gaze.

"...Go and see them. Now."

"Alright then...I'll go." Expecting some sort of acknowledgement, Afro simply turned around and headed in the opposite direction."Sensei! I'll meet you tomorrow at the gate!" Huey yelled out at him as he walked off. Huey managed to drag his feet on the path that lead to his former home. Many emotions swirled in his head concerning future events, but one thing was for certain, his future and his life would be set on a permanent turnabout.

 **Fro Ninja; Well that's all there is! Please comment, favorite, or like if it's not too much trouble. See you guys in chapter 2! One love!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Fro Ninja; Hey guys what's going on?! The Fro Ninja here with another release! I won't waste time getting this, but before we do that, let's see who came and left a comment.**

 _ **The Book of Eli;**_ **Your continued support is appreciated sir. As vague as it is lol.**

 _ **Guest;**_ **Thanks a lot for checking out my work, and I hope you continue to read on.**

 _ **Hueyfan;**_ **Thanks a lot for reading dude, I hope you continue to support this title!**

 **Allright, so without further ado, let's get into everything!**

 **Afro's perspective**

 **Somewhere outside the village.**

 **Blood, screams, and the smell of carcasses was the last thing I could remember.**

It wasn't something that continued its pain, but still stayed there as a reminder like a faded scar that ocasionally seeps out from its peaks. My hands yearned for the sensation of the twisting and jerking motion of the sword at every conceivable moment, to be able to stretch cold steel down a man's throat for everytime that looked at me wrong. Everytime I close my eyes, I keep on living that moment over and over again, almost like a movie stuck on repeat by a rock stuck in the reels. And it's the best part of the movie. The best part that you've seen a thousand times, you begin to get sick of it after a while.

It had been a while since I managed to sleep without concerns of gutting the presence hovering above my body. Now, since I sense it there constantly, I'm able to sleep more contently than I'm able to without it. I leaned up from the futon and rubbed my face before reaching to grab my father's sword in the spot I placed it in. To my surprise, it wasn't there. My muscles automatcially tensed up, and my heart began to beat a few paces faster in anticipation of what was about to be. I then quickly sensed an unfamiliar presence, and vaulted out of my laying spot, avoiding what looked like kunai knives digging heavily into my sheets.

"What?!" As I said that as if on cue, I heard five more clacks on the leftmost side of the go off, and soon the sound of wood burning. The crackles surrounded me as the fire spread, making a sound resembling raindrops. Without a second thought I exited the shed through the one of the windows before the whole shed burned to a crisp. As i made it outside, I looked around hastefully for the larsonist, while also keeping my wits about me. For the first few seconds I saw nothing, until I felt the sensation of cold steel attempting to drive against my neck. Feeling the structure of the blade, and how it met up with the shape of its turn in its cutting path, I crouched down and instantly found the spot of the handle. As soon as my hands made contact with their own, I formed a strong grip and threw them in front of me, avoiding the slice before it actually hit its mark. The wielder in question tried charging toward me, only to meet the impact of my right hand. I then scanned the ground, and found the blade that was almost used to cut my neck off, and planted right in their leg.

"ARRGGGHHHHH!" I heard them wretch out in pain as I dug the blade deeper into their thigh, until blood began to splurge on my hands. I then delievered two punches to their mid section. For some reason, I felt padding near their vital spots where my fists landed. Whoever this person is, they are obviously well armed. Seeing an opening, I grabbed their arm and pushed up the elbow joint, making the bone spring out of its flesh, and then delievered a throw that lead them straight face down into the ground. With them pinned on the ground, and their arm tight in my clutches, and pressed down onto their neck. I could hear the gurggling of his throat coming up from his mouth, and his lungs struggling to breath air. "Let...let me go!" I then grabbed one of the kunai knives from his back pouch, and stuck it into other good hand and cut off one of his fingers. "ERRRRHHHGGGHHH!" Once again, his screams belled out. The very sound of them, screeched against my ear for a good minute before I cut off another one of his fingers.

I crouched down beside their face and took off the assailants mask, revealing the face of a young boy. Probably fourteen or fifteen at best. His bloodied face was sullied with fear and pain, and driven by hate. A face I know very well. "No! No! You've...you've seen me! Kill me! Kill me now! I would rather die than be looked upon the likes of you!" Even though the boy was a native, his English was surprisingly good. My instincts told me that we wasn't from around here. I didn't know who send him, but I was about to get some answers.

 _"_ Who sent you? _Dare ga?_ I decided to speak the native tongue as well to belay the communication more in my favor. It was useless, as he refused to speak.

"I will tell you nothing!" I decided to give him an incentive to speak once more. I then took another kunai, and stuck it in the elbow of his other arm, and before he could scream, I placed more pressure on the foot placed on his neck. I could her the muffled screams as his body squirmed.

"Screaming will only make it worse. I can end your sufferering, if you tell me what I want."

"You...you animal! You would kill me?! I am defenseless! You outsiders have no morals! _Kusou gaijin!_ You're no better than demons!" I pressed my foot down even harder on his throat.

"Do not insult me. If you pick up that sword and aim it at someone's throat, you would best be prepared to face the consequences should you fail. Be it death or worse. And to label the one who defended himself against your assault as a demon? I can tell you have yet to step foot in the real world, and learn of its ways. Now tell me. . You?"

I placed my full weight down on his neck and heard the gurggling screams sound off even louder, and began to twist the arm that I held even further until I heard bone after bone snap in place. After about three minutes, I felt a rapid patting sensation against my leg.

"Please! Stop! I beg of you! Just stop! I'll tell you! I'll tell you, just...just...please...just...stop..." After hearing his cry, I let go of his arm and took my foot off of his neck, which had left a very dark mark on the spot.

I grabbed his body and leaned him up against a nearby tree. His breaths were labored and hoarse, and his face, wet with tears and blood. He was hurting, it didn't take an expert to notice that.

"Talk. And I will end it."

He took a moment to catch his breath before speaking.

"I...never...asked for his name...I...only...know of his...face...he...is of...dark skin...like you...His voice...is commanding...direct...We...were to...told...not...to report back...should we fail...to kill you...The Number Two..."

"Many people have tried to kill me. What makes this one so different?"

"He know...that...you plan to escort...the foreign diplomat...to the capital...He...doesn't want you...to succeed..."

"Why?"

"His reasons...are unknown to me... But...he...isn't the...only who feels this way...many...will...come...to halt your progress..."

"This one can send whatever or whomever he likes. I don't care. I **will** succeed in my mission"

"Haha...hmph...you don't know what these people...are capable of...what they could do to you...they...took...me...from my family...forced me to fight...I didn't want...to...but..." He then began to cough up blood from his mouth. I could tell he didn't have much time left. But then my eyes notice the detail of a tiny particle on his mouth which he then swallows. Poison, huh? I guess his client's orders were absolute. His breaths became more hoarse, and his coughs more severe.

"For someone who had no choice in the matter, you seem rather quick to end your life after losing to your target." I told him.

"Lost? No...no...no. It...was...never my intention...to win or lose... I...had hoped you would be the one to kill me...It..was..the only way...I could guarantee...my freedom...from this life...It...was the-*cough*" As he got ready to depart, I decided to humor is true intentions.

"Who are you? What's your name boy?"

"You...would...have the name of your...assassin? Hehehe...you're a strange samurai...*sigh* My...name is Kyoushiro...Muto Kyoushiro...I know...have...no right to ask this of you...but...should...you reach..the capital...please...look...for he...my sister...please...I ask..this of..."

And with that, what little life he had, withered away under this dead tree. I was never one to believe in the after life, I surely wished that he had gone to a better place. Better than this sick, twisted and vile one that all manner of man reside in. I stood up from my knee and closed the boy's eyes shut and simply walked away.

As I walked, a familiar presence had walked beside me, his snickering and smell of herbs had filled around my ears and nostrils. I didn't bother to make eye contact, and kept walking.

"What do you want?" I asked him.

"C'mon Afro! You think that I was just gonna leave you back there brotha?! I mean, I was fitting to help you out, but hehe, you know I was a little...uh...preoccupied, you feel me? I would never you leave you hanging brotha." Despite his reassurance, I still pressed on. Even though the sun had yet to rise, I was still aways from the village, and there's no telling what other assassins were lurking around still. "Uhhh...so, I take it you don't wanna to talk about what just happened huh? I mean, it was kinda cold blooded the way you just kept torturing him and shit, but but it was real cool though, the way you told him you would look for his sister and shit. Real slick padna."

"I didn't say I would do it."

"Yeaahhh, but you didn't say you wouldn't do it either, so it sounds like you content with the whole situation hombre. You know what I mean? Besides I bet you feel all giddy inside the way he was all protecting his family, I betchu it brought a tear to eye right? Remind you of yo dead daddy, and how you was out there killing niggas for chump change and shit? Dems was the good old days, hahaha!"

Without a word, I drew my blade in a flash against Ninja's head. I didn't look to see if the attack had landed, because I already knew it didn't.

"Shut...up."

I then heard him chuckling.

"Aight, aight. I'll back off. But you know, these niggas ain't goin' stop coming after you Afro. You gotta figure out a way to keep these muthafuckas from gangin up on you. Have a colt nearby or some shit! Just to get you by!"

...

A few hours later, I made it on to the main road leading back to the village, Just one cue, the sun began to rise beyond the hills in the distance. I placed my hand on my sword as I made my way down to the front entrance. As I was about to go in, Ninja had stopped me by placing himself in front of me directly.

"Move."

"Hold up, hold up a minute playa. I know you took this job and all, but have you thought about what to do with...uh...you know who?" I knew exactly who he had in mind. I simply avoided the question by grunting. "C'mon Afro man! You seriously think that young brotha is ready for some shit like this?! I mean, it's only been a few years since you started training him. Now don't get me wrong, that boy is GOOD, I mean he's able to hold his own against , and you know how that nigga gets in a fight, but he ain't never been out there before. That kid is gonna get the taste smacked out of his mouth, if you don't get him to come correct!"

I honestly couldn't argue with him. The boy was decent in terms of skill, but in the ways of the warrior, he was still a newcomer. However in warring times like these, there's only so much that you could learn in a dojo or just with sparring excersises. While this does seem like a stretch, I feel that this is the pathways to reach the next stage of his training, be it safe or not.

"He'll be fine..." That's all I could give as an answer. I couldn't tell honestly what the future may hold for this mission, but it would be one that would most likely be the answer to young Huey's question.

 _ **CHAPTER 2 END.**_

 _ **Authors note ; Thanks for reading everybody. Sorry this chapter was shorter than the last, but because I have other things I'm working on, I had to find a way to cut this one down a little bit. But rest assured, I will try to get these chapters out a little sooner than this one. So please, stick around, and thanks once again. Peace!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Fro Ninja;** **Hello my beautiful people! Yes, I know I've been gone with this series for a while, and I heavily apologize for that. I'll definitely try and get out updates a lot quicker after this one, so just bear with me. On that note, let's see who left a comment.**

 _ **hueyfan;**_ **Thank you for reading! Although that wasn't my intention, thanks for making that reference my friend. I hope you continue to check out this series despite my negligence with updating.**

 **Okay! Now that we took care of that, let's get right into it!**

 _ **A few hours later**_

 _ **Third person perspective**_

Though he wouldn't rather do it, Huey find himself pacing in front of his door, eagerly grasping his knapsack with unwavering anxiousness. He stopped every minute or so to take a breath, and then go back to pacing in front of the door, opening it and closing it every few seconds. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, ranging from 'what would happen if I open this door to begin my true journey', to 'did I remember to make breakfast this morning?'

This was to be his one his first real steps in his journey to mastering the sword, and to get closer to recognition by his master. He took a moment to withdraw his sword, and stare at his reflection in the blade. His focused expression stared right back at him. The unsureness showed up in his eyes before long as the impact of this assignment dawned on him.

"Am I really ready for this? Is this what my training has prepared me for?" He asked himself several times. Even to this day, the bonds of slavery still shackle his hands. Three years had passed since he freed himself from the bonds that held him down since birth, but in the back of his mind, the question still stuck at him. The chains are gone, but is he really free? He constantly deliberated about this through meditations, and focusing on perfecting his swordcraft, none of which seemed to merit him any answer. Freedom was a hard thing to define to young Huey.

Was it indeed the absence of chains? The sense of liberation with nothing tieing the individual down, or the natural right to do whatever you wish to do? If that's the case, then did he have a right of not being incarcerated like he was for the majority of his life? No. It didn't. He was slowly learning the fact that because of the circumstances, humans, no matter their status do not a say of what they are born into, but can choose what to become. As cliche as it sounds, this is an illusion. Everything a person does and becomes is based on a primary instinct to be, similar to an animal. Was it his primary instinct to become a enslaved warrior in a world where a black individual is given no choice but to be what his/her masters demand them to be? Only time would tell until he would find the answers to these questions.

Huey had stopped pacing in front of the door and began to extend his arm out to grab the knob on the door. His arm stalled for a few seconds before slowly pulling it back. In that moment, he then felt a hard slap across his head that knocked his head to the side.

"Ow!" He grunted in pain. He turned around to see an elderly old man staring at him with a grunted and displeased face.

"Dammit Huey! In or out boy! Pick one, you lettin' all the damn flies in!" The old man barked at him. This was Huey's grandfather, Robert Freeman. Like his grandson, he was also born into the bonds of slavery, but because his desire to not be killed, lynched or worse, he seemingly accepted his place in the world for most of his life. His saying was always 'There's no need to reach to for a plate of steak and chitlings, when you know a bear has shitted all over it', a saying to this day that makes no sense, but has kept him alive to this day. As the years passed for him, and he began to create a family of his own, he began to accept that eventually he was going to die, and it was going to be as a slave, and so maintained an amicable perspective on life, became satisfied that they are things you simply can't control.

"Granddad, I'm trying to weigh my options at the moment." Huey responded while rubbing the afflicted spot on his head.

"That's something you should have done years ago boy! You wanted to go with that nasty wandering hobo with the nappy fro and the hoop earrings! What kinda nigga wears hoop earrings?!"

"His name is Afro."

"I don't give a flying fuck what his name is! With his constipated looking ass!" Granddad than wandered off to the living room, and sat down on the tatami mat floor in front of a small round table. The smell of green leaf scented tea filled the room with its aroma. Huey followed him in, and took a seat across from him. Granddad grabbed an age old teapot from the nearby cupboard, and a small cup, and began to pour water into the pot."The only reason I let you go off with him, was so that you can find out some good trading routes for us, so that we can get this business set up! Do you know how long I've been drawing up business plans for this thing boy?!" He says to him while mixing his water with tea leaves with his brush.

Huey sighs as he lays his sword down next to him.

"Granddad. I've already explained this to you before, I can't and I won't spend the rest of my picking up cabbage from a burrowed cabbage field. I don't want to go back to that lifestyle." Huey said calmly.

"You make it seem like you had a choice of what life you were born into boy! Remember what happened to your parents?! They thought they could be something more than what they were told to be, now look at them! Dead!" Granddad began to mix even faster with his brush, furiously scrapping the cup from the inside. "Face it boy! This world needs a lot of things, but a nigga samurai ain't one of them. Now do me, and your brother a favor to stop chasing this bullshit dream!"

He slammed his brush on the table and gulped the unfinished tea down in one go, and spit it out a few seconds later. "Goddammit! This is some nasty ass tea! Why the hell I gotta be making the tea for?! I'm an old man! RILEY! Get yo lazy ass up and make me some tea, and don't forget to check on the crops! Mr. Hyuga is supposed to be stopping by today, and I think he wants to do business! Hoo-whee!" His mood shifted from upset to happy in under a minute as he threw the tea cup on the mat out of frustration."Anyway...what was I saying again?"

"Listen Granddad, I've made my decision. I'm going along with Master Afro on this assignment."

Granddad put on a rather stern face as he struck Huey on the head once again. The strike didn't seem to bother him much as he simply shook it off.

"Dammit boy! Didn't you just hear what I said about this little...shit farce you doing?!"

"I heard what you said, and I've understood everything of where you're coming from with it."

"Then you-"

"But regardless, this is something that I have to do for myself. I have to figure out whether or not if I'm ready for this kind of path in my life. The odds are against us, but surely me being there can make some kind of difference!"

"There is no difference to make!" Granddad retorted. "Three nigga samurai walking around on Japanese soil trying to create some kind of diplomatic honky donk with some foreign ass country with the head of the empire is not gonna make a damn bit of difference!"

"It will if we succeed..."

"Oh yeah? And what happens if you DON'T succeed? Hmmm? What then, boy?"

Huey remained silent for a few seconds before responding. He then stood up with certainty and determination.

"Then we WILL succeed! That's the only way we can be sure that it can make a difference! Granddad, you told me and Riley after our mother and father died, that we were two little black negroes in a white dominated world, and that we weren't shit, and that we were never going be shit. You have no idea how much that turned my veins ice cold that day, how much I thought that no matter how much I would struggle, squirm and crawl, I won't even be considered at least half as good as the next man. It made me afraid...So afraid, that I actually told myself why bother with anything, if all I was destined to go through was failure in the long run."

Huey then grasped his fist tightly. "But that day when we left the plantation...that day we decided to run and never look back...I was...convinced. Convinced that where we were going, me, you, and Riley would be able to something more that what we were born into, or what we were told we could only be. And the first time..." He then gripped his sword tightly, as he looked at his grandfather with assured eyes."The first time I picked up a sword, and Sensei named me his apprentice, everything had just started to make sense to me. I knew what my calling was in life finally."

Granddad slowly got up from where he was sitting and walked over to Huey. He placed his hand on his shoulder and punched him square in the face. The punch had knocked Huey directly into the wall, knocking down several pictures on the wall, and a vase on the nearby cupboard. A loud crack could be heard throughout the house.

Loud footsteps could be heard pattering on the other side of the house, and they soon got closer to the living room.

"Yo! What the hell was that?!" Suddenly a young boy had showed up a handful of radishes in one hand and a pitchfork in the other. He had a half dressed kimono on, along with messy cornrows and scowling expression on his face, which was rather unusual for a boy his age. He then scanned the room to notice the broken vase on the floor and the scattered pictures. "Oh man! You niggas just had to start fighting and shit?! I just bought that vase yesterday, and now y'all are gonna break the shit?! Can't you stand to see a nigga trying to get a little Feung Shwee up in this peace?! Damn, niggas got to ruin everything! I can't get nothing in here!"

Granddad then turned to the young man and then snatched the pitchfork away from him.

"Riley! What the hell did I tell you about coming in the house with your farming gear on?! You leaving mud tracks all up in the house boy!"

"Wha-? So even when I'm the one complaining, I'm still getting yelled at?! Man that's that ol' bullshit Moe!"

"Boy you better watch yo goddamn mouth! And where's that tea I told you to get me?!"

"Granddad, you don't even like green tea! The first day we got here, you said it taste like water mixed with cat piss!" Riley yelled out.

"I ain't said no shit like that! I said it tasted it **kind of** like tasted like cat piss! That don't mean the same thang!"

"It does mean the same thing. Just because you imply something is possibly like what you say it is, you're still giving an implication based on your opinion or observation." Huey calmly said.

"See! I told you!"

"Boy if you don't get the hell on...!"

As soon as Riley heard his voice jolt out, he rushed out of the room at top speed. Once again Huey and Granddad were left by themselves. The room grew even quieter as both of their eyes darted around the room in awkwardness, waiting for the other to ssay anything.

"Look, Granddad. I know you're against this whole thing." Huey said.

"Pshhh. You don't know what the hell I'm against boy. I carried you and your brother here to start a new life. To get away from things trying to kill us and put us down. Now when I turn my eyes, you going on some kinda rinky dink, samurai mission to the capital. That's some dangerous territory you walking into boy!"

"Granddad, every mission we go on has some kind of danger involved."

"Not like this. Do you know what these people do to outsiders here that don't keep their nose in their own business? They all about that honor thing...right? No need to to get up all in that nonsense. Just stick to what you know."

"And what's that? Farming. Tending sheds and taking care of animals in a blazing sun? What does any of this seem different from our old life? We're still doing the same thing we were back there."

"Nope! This time, we're getting paid for it."

"Granddad..."

"Face it boy. This is our livelihood right here! It's how we put food on the table! Plus it's what keeps both of 'yo black asses warm at night, and keep these fancy shmancy overlords from taking over this place."

He wasn't wrong about that aspect, Huey thought to himself. Despite the village they live in not being anywhere involved in the mainland's economic and political field, the villagers are still forced to give off their earnings and crops that they raise throughout the seasons. Because of the heavy drought, the farmers have an even harder time keeping up with the seasonal rotation, thus killing any profits they may earn. As for livestock, there have been many instances where animals that produced some kind of commodity for the community had mysteriously vanished or had been slaughtered in an attack.

Because of these various impediments that the village has been stuck with, there has been the formation of the mercenary group that Huey and company works for, in order to gain outsourced income for their people, but because of the short demand of their work, they are having a hard to time meeting ends on those parts. Huey knew that for a fact, this mission was some sort of miracle at work here, but there was obviously something bigger going on in the works here.

"Be that as it may, nothing is going to change if we keep just letting the shogunate keep pushing us around like this. If we didn't sit around deciding that the bare minimum is enough to get by without fault, we would try to be better for ourselves and others around us. We have to push forward Granddad. That's why I started training under Afro- _sensei_ , to better myself and learn how to do just that, and provide that example for those behind me!"

Granddad stayed quiet for about a minute or two, but had the look astonishment mixed with anger.

"Boy, just what the hell kinda ganja you've been smoking?! That shit don't even make sense! Being a samurai means having others tell you what to do as well! It's a soldier! A pawn! Someone those fat cat lords send in order to take care of the shit that they can't even get up and do they damnsevles! Just what are you proving by doing this huh?! That young black boy can be stabbed up and hung just like the rest of them, in the name of "honor for their people"?!"

"That's right. There's nothing changing about what I was born into or what color my skin is, but the least I can do is give myself a chance to fight for the people that mean that much to me with this sword that I carry!"

"Well I gotta ask you then boy. Just who is **your** people?"

Huey had no answer to the question, and simply stayed silent for a few minutes. Clearly it rung him hard, as he couldn't even think of the most logical response. No. This was a matter of the heart. Something that young Huey had yet to fully realize the potential of.

He then got out of his seat and headed to the door, holding his sword in hand and tightening his bandanna. He then reached for the door in silence and opened it. He then heard rapid footsteps approach behind him.

"What the hell is 'dis shit?! A'yo Granddad! How come Huey get to leave the house without doing no work?! I even made that nasty ass green tea, while y'all was just sitting here talking some shit like those niggas with the bathrobes down the block! This is some bullshit! Ay, Huey man! That's not fair, I did my share of the work, you betta...mphhhh!" Granddad then covered Riley's mouth in the middle of his rant.

"Shutcho ass boy, before I put yo ass to work in the marsh!" He then looked out at Huey. His back turned to his family with his hand rested on the knob of the door. Waiting for the right words that would soon come out of his mouth. The ones that would let his family know that this was what was meant to be, and that it was going to come this soon. That despite being in a country that gives no love toward foreigners, this was the only way that he knew of that could prove what he wanted to move towards, and fight for.

But those words never came.

"I'll tell you this boy. You walk out that door now, you better not come back..."

Hearing the words his grandfather spoke, Huey finally opened the door that lied in front of him, which was the first of many he had before him. There wasn't much he could take with him, except those words, the question that he would have to find an answer for.

As he stepped outside, he took a deep breath in order to greet the new day. He then headed toward the office, tightly holding onto his blade and feeling the weight of each of his footsteps as they drew closer to his starting point.

 **Chapter 3 END**

 **Fro Ninja; Thank you so much for reading, and I'm really sorry this release took so long, but I will attempt to fix the release rates for this series.**

 **ONE LOVE!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Fro Ninja; Hello guys! Thank you so much for checking out this series. I will attempt to do better by this story as I see a good few more people favoriting and following it every day. Please continue to do so, and leave some comments while you're at it. It really helps me grow as a writer and as a person! Now, let's get started!**

 **Outside of the Coffee and Cream office.**

 **Huey's Perspective**

Filing down the street towards the office, the sun began to rise over my head, giving view to the horizon in front of me. I had no words other than it felt oddly refreshing to see such a thing. Every bird I saw them fly off with their assured freedom that was in the form of their wings, all towards the blue sky. I envied them somewhat. But not nearly enough to curse the new form of life I've been given, or the one I've decided to take for myself.

As I turned my last corner, I saw a familiar figure waiting outside of the office, standing by the posting board for our company. He gave no regards to the people walking by him. Some whispered and even pointed fingers at the man in question. He simply stood there arms crossed, with his blade ever at his side, and his long white head band flourishing in the wind. I ran up to him with slight anxiety and bowed at him.

"Good morning Sensei." I said to him. He slowly turned his head, and looked at me for a few seconds before responding.

"Good morning..." He said silently.

It didn't take a genius to know that Afro- _sensei_ wasn't one for words, especially when I first met him, but I've learned to become used to phases of silence by trying to fill it as quickly as possible after he finishes a sentence.

"It's great weather we're having today, isn't it Sensei? And right before a mission too." He nodded silently.

"Yes, it is..." Well that didn't work much did it? I quickly look around to find something else to talk about. I then notice old man Kurosaki out of the corner of my eye, hanging up some fresh fruit on a string.

"I see Kurosaki- _san_ has brought out his crops to sell. Those cabbages and carrots look fresh don't they?"

"Yes...they do..."

This isn't working. I know he wasn't one for words, but this is something else that I actually never had a problem with. I then decide to switch to something different entirely. Something that had just happened to me this morning..

"Sensei. As you probably might have guessed, my grandfather was highly against me going on this job. He and I had a long discussion this morning regarding it, and I disagreed with him, saying that he didn't understand that this path I'm on, it's one of my own making, and not me being influenced. As a result, he put me out of the house." I let out a slight sigh. "After this job, I'll have nowhere else to go. Because of this, I'll probably have to leave the company as well, since there isn't much point to me staying in the village anymore near a home I've been thrown out of. So I was wondering, after this mission, may I come with you on your journey? I know the one you're going after. The target of your vengeance is out there somewhere. I can help you find him!" I said with eagerness. I was expecting some kind of response, it didn't matter if it was approval or disapproval from him, but he simply held up his hand in front of me."Sensei?"

He then started to open the door as we both heard the loud, and loquacious sounds of

 _ **"SUEY!"**_ All of a sudden, several quick flashes zipped past my eyes and went straight towards Sensei. On closer inspection, they were all short knives with extra pointed tips with the edges nettled down to allow better accuracy and speed. But instead of hitting their mark, they all began to fall to the ground like flies one by one. I started to focus my eyes, and saw the very, very brief image of Afro-sensei deflecting them all with his sword at an almost impossible to see speed. My eyes were only able to catch every fourth movement of his arms, but they had barely extended when uses his blade to block the weapons, and not a single wasted movement of the muscles were shown for me to see. After only a second the knives had stopped darting forward. " _ **SU-SUEY!"**_ All of a sudden, a quick streak of light just flashed right and front of me, and made contact with my master's blade.

Without warning, three more clashes gave way to the metal, and continued to crash into each other until they were both forced into a deadlock. I knew who was the person engaging in this little trifle, even before the sound off of his traditional fanfare. Sensei remained still in his stance, with his feet not even moving an inch, still buried in the ground, while his opponent on the other hand ended digging further and further into the dirt while striking in order to increase his power, but nothing had changed. "I see you ain't been slacking Afro, you jive ass turkey!" To be this hyper in the morning, Black Dynamite must be the most anxious get started on this mission more than any of us. Considering how much on the line here for success, I wouldn't be surprised.

I then see Cesar following hot behind 's trail, running out of breath shortly after reaching us.

"Huey- _dono_! Please! I tried to stop him, but he said he couldn't stand the thought of Afro- _dono_ being ahead of him in the mission, not even for a second!" He said trying to catch his breath.

"But the mission hasn't even started yet."

"It don't matter if it started yet or not!" yelled out while trying to break through sensei's defenses, only to be baited into deflects and parries."Aghh! What matters is that Afro here recognizes who the real bread winner 'round here! If anybody is gonna be taking the lead on this front it's gonna be me, and you best believe that!"

I sighed exhaustively.

"Are you serious? Black Dynamite, we all get equal shares for our assignments, no matter the payload. It's how we avoid unnecessary conflicts among the employees like this."

"You better stay out of this one lil' Huey! You don't wanna get smacked all upside yo neck with the kind of mean back hand I'm packing!" went for a flourishing attack in a spinning flair."TAKE THIS!" Without much effort, Sensei swept him by the heel that was being used to make the spin slash happen, knocking him right on his behind, dropping his sword in the process. Sensei had then pointed the tip of his sword directtly in his face. Despite the situation, remained with his usual expression, focused eyes that were loyal to the goal of being twice as good as the next man that brandished a sword just like him.

Sensei soon sheathed his sword in a calm manner after pulling it away.. One thing I noticed was even after the whole exchange, he hadn't wasted a single breath, nor had he stopped to take one.

"Are you done...?" He silently asked a grounded Black Dynamite. He snorted at him as he stood up on his feet, brushing the dust off of his robes.

"No I'm not done! But I am for now." He then pointed a finger in front of Afro-sensei's face with a determined expression."I ain't through witchu yet Afro. You and me will settle this some day. Be it the next day, or the day after that, or the next thirty days!"

"You mean a month?" I pointed out.

"You know what I mean! Point is, you better not forget who it's gonna be between the two of us, and it sure as hell ain't gonna be you standing over me, can you dig it?" He declared to Sensei. We all stood there for a brief moment, expecting some kind of response, but all he had done was silently nod as he headed inside the office."Hmphh! Look at him, thinking he all bad and shit! I'll show him some day! You watch boys, someday, I'm gonna have the jive turkey tapping out with my steel breathing down his neck, and everybody will be watching! You might even be calling me Master soon little Huey!"

"Don't hold your breath Black Dynamite." He snorted as I said that, and headed into the office. Cesear breathed a sigh of relief, with his hand tightly knitted to his chest the whole time.

"Ohhh! Thank goodness! I honestly thought it would escalate to very far heights soon between those two!"

"No, that kind of thing happens all of the time between them. He's even starting to include me in the loop as well."

"That explains your calm demeanor towards the situation. But I do not understand, Huey- _dono_. Why does conflict always seem to spark between those two? It's almost as if a powerful hate is brewing between them every time the blade is involved."

"It's nothing like that. They don't hate each other. Far from it. It kind of like they have a...mutual respect for each other as samurai."

"Ahhh! A rivalry! I see...The fierce camaraderie between two men while trying to lay their pride on the line and prove their strength to each other and to themselves. I only hear rumors about such things in the mainland, and even then such statements have no base to clarify truth. But when I see it done right in front of me, the sense of romance fills my heart with such fireworks. Such granduer!."

"It's nothing so dramatic, trust me."

"Really?" He sounded disappointed when I mentioned that. "Then what happened between the two of them?"

"It happened about two months ago, when me and Sensei were on an assignment to defend a small village from some bandits in Yamatai that had been bothering them for about a year. It took us a few hours to clear them out, but it was no trouble. After that, the villagers invited us to stay for the rest of the night, and then we would leave in the morning. The reward for the job was pretty much chump change, but the celebration that the villagers threw us for getting rid of the attackers wasn't bad.

The next morning when we were getting ready to leave, Sensei had gotten a letter of challenge from someone, saying that they were the guardian of the village, and that we stole his thunder by driving off the raiders before him, and that he was going to teach us a lesson we wouldn't forget even if Buddha made it so. I suggested we ignore it and go back to the office, but Sensei was intrigued by the whole thing, it's not every day someone challenged him.

We then went to the town square where the letter told us to meet at. When we get there, we get greeted by this guy being escorted by little orphans and sleazy looking women, wearing nothing but simple robes and holding a lavish katana in his hand. He kept shouting out how he was the baddest motherfucker in the village, and it was him that was supposed to clear out the bandits instead of some random pea bodies from the out of town. The weird part was that nobody in the village had even heard of him, so that part was a little discredited.

After he spent the first hour or so mouthing off, he finally decided to duel Sensei. At first, I thought that despite his willingness to talk rather than to fight the men that wronged you in a duty, he was someone of considerable skill and fortitude with a mind of combat. But instead, all he did was charge forth at him with no thoughts for strategy. From his movements, he fought with less grace and technique than the average samurai, but his strength and clarity for fighting was not something to be underestimated. My master seemed to think so, since the fight took almost a day for it to conclude. I rarely saw Sensei fight with anyone, nevermind with full effort, but the guy did a surprisingly good job at keeping at his throat, and constantly keeping him on guard. The whole time, they were fighting, it was like I was in another world. Watching two masters of the sword do battle with each other was something extraordinary to see, every strike, every pacing of footwork, movement of muscle, and the clashing of their blades, everything about the way they fought was something that only I can dream of having for myself."

"Who had won that day?" Cesar asked.

"Neither of them had won, since both were at an equal level in terms of fighting ability, at least that's how it appeared to Black Dynamite."

"Amazing! I always assumed as much, but Dynamite- _dono_ and Afro- _dono_ really are of the same cloth! Both are formidable warriors that deserve each other's respect." Cesar's eyes began to get filled with excitement and glee after hearing the details of duel. Though I can understand that feeling, as I look back on it with the emotion myself."But wait..." His expression then changed once more. "If it were a draw, how come Dynamite- _dono_ follows you two around then, and always antagonizes Afro- _dono_?"

"After the fight was over and we were about to leave, he declared that he felt cheated, and that Afro-sensei was holding back for the sake of not embarrassing him in front of his whores and little orphans."

"Whores? And orphans?"

"Don't ask. Anyway, he demanded that Sensei give him a rematch right then and there, but I explained to him that we needed to report back to our company to receive our pay. He noticed that with the increasing number of bandits outside of the mainland, companies like ours were having trouble handling everything, so he decided until he beats Sensei, he would help us out with our work, leaving behind both his whores and his orphans. Ever since then, he's been starting fights with him whenever he could."

"I see...That is quite a story Huey- _dono_. I had no idea that such a thing could happen between great men and warriors."

"It's really not as grandiose as you point it out to be."

"On the contrary. It's quite pleasing that you look back on a story about your master with such respect. How did you even come to meet such a great man?"

That statement made a dozen thoughts and memories rush to my head, but they were all feelings that flew past me.

"That's a story for another time..." I gave Cesar the best possible answer I could, but I know he wouldn't give up the search for answers that soon.

"I see. Well, let us head inside then. The others are waiting for us."

He then walked through the office door, but not before I caught his brief glimpse at me, and it was one that I strangely felt had pierced, albeit slightly. Even if I had the desire to tell him how me and Sensei came to be, I could no longer tell the story, seeing as how I couldn't even remember it myself. Even for the past two years that I've been his apprentice, not once had I thought about why I was following him, only that I had to at all costs. Why was this coming up now of all times?! I shook my head and slapped my face in order to focus for upcoming task.

Once inside, I was greeted to a quiet atmosphere, but it wasn't the complimented by the subtle tone of possible death that I was used to every time I came in this office, but it was...soothing. Along with the fragrance that I lost my feeling and emotion toward. Flashes of rose gardens and places that seemed unfamiliar came to me all at once. I could only hear the sound of my own feet hitting the creaky and unhinging floorboards under me as I drew closer into the structure. Upon reaching the front desk, a mysterious sight had beheld me.

It was a girl. She looked no older than me, but the difference between her and I was astonishing to the point of saying that I was dreaming. Her skin was...so much lighter than mine, and her hair...long yet with a natural sheen to it blanketed with a unique shade of tan or light brown. Eyes as green as the leaves on a summer tree, and the face of the brightly colored innocence. Rose colored as they called it. Her long white dress sprinkled with light blue and gold patterns that ran in soft streaks all around her, and cloth that had reached down to the floor covering her feet. Every single thread and weave on her looked brand new, with scent of ivory floating through the air that could only be the result of heavy care for impressions.

In that moment, she had looked at me. With such a discerning and innocent expression, positive vibes and radiated off of her very face. She had gave me a light smile. I couldn't find any other words to describe it, except beautiful. Beautiful in the sense that it shouldn't be in this world. The world that I had to grow up in. The one that spits on such terms, and where there is always one group of people that has power over others.

She had walked toward me with gentle grace. It took me a while to notice it, but everyone in the room, including Ed Wuncler of all people, had stayed completely quiet. The presence that she gave off commanded as such, even though I had yet to comply to it myself. Without even thinking that she would, she caught me off guard with the extended hand that laid in front of me. Even her hands looked delicate, with no such thing as dirt or anything remotely close to being called improper.

"It is such a pleasure to meet you." As soon as she spoke, I could clearly hear the birds chirping outside, with such glee and happiness. Even the water in the background made sense to my ears. Her voice was soothing to say the least, but it was so unfamiliar sounding to me. Not just the words, but how they were spoken. She had tilted her head slightly in curiosity to my focused expression. "Have...I offended you? You are not shaking my hand." Her stood there waiting for my own.

"Nobody had ever offered me a handshake before in my entire life. I'm sorry if I'm a bit out of sorts for that kind of thing."

"Is that so? I had no idea. I am truly sorry for offending you in such a manner."

The way she viewed me as some sort of bottom like individual was starting to irritate me a bit.

"Why are you apologizing to someone you don't even know? That's the same as admitting you're guilty of past crimes that you can no longer redeem yourself for."

"You piece of trash! Watch your mouth!" A bald headed guy stepped out of the shadows, with his hands trained on his sword. It was of a curved and broader sort, one that I had never seen but have only heard rumors about."How dare you speak to her like that!" I turned my head slightly to meet his piercing gaze. It wasn't enough to set me off. Not nearly enough. But this was a place of business, not of bloodshed. I noticed none of the others had bothered to move from their spots either. Sensei laid against the wall, Black Dynamite standing by Ed's desk, and Cesar standing right behind me as well. All of us knew that mantra, and we were prepared for the worse should someone break that very mantra

"No!" The girl in front of me threw out her arm in front of the armed man, and within just a few seconds, he had stepped back into relaxed stance, but with his fingers still racing on his hilt. Mine wasn't, but I could take him anytime."It wasn't his fault. The blame is mine alone. I wasn't aware that not every individual is sanctioned to be the same as I, and that every place has its own customs. It seems I have very much to learn about the outside world, and because of that I am very apologetic in the face of error." She then turned to me again. Those same innocent eyes kept looking back at me. She then slightly bowed to me out of respect."If it be possible, I humbly request you forgiveness on behalf of my naivete, Master Samurai."

The words 'master' and 'samurai' were enough to almost make me blush out. I didn't consider myself either of those. I was simply a boy with a sword. She brought herself back up and I bowed back to her in kind.

"It's fine. It's just...strange to be given such treatment." She nodded with a smile. One that I just couldn't bring myself to accept for some reason. I didn't even know this girl, but I felt a growing lack of hatred in the back of my neck for her.

Ed had cleared his throat after the whole affair, which had felt like an eternity had gone by.

"Ay yo! If y'all are finished, maybe we can get down to business?!" His loud voice brought me back to my senses. "Now then, since you have had the obvious pleasure of being introduced to each other, I might as well indicate her presence and whatnot, you know what I'm saying?"

"Just tell us what the hell you trying to say already you big fool!" Black Dynamite lashed out at him, but still keeping his cool. Ed slams his hand on the desk, right on top of his cup, breaking it into several pieces, and sending the very sound through the office.

"Don't rush me aight?!" I was gonna say that...AHHHHHHH SHIT!" It didn't take long for his pain to set in. He flailed around the office, hopping and screaming in pain at the top of his lungs. I could Black Dynamite's vein starting to pop out of his head out of frustration. He grabbed Ed by his neck and slapped the hand that had shards still burrowed in it. "Goddammit! That hurts you fucking idiot!"

"Would you stop wasting our damn time with this foolishness already?! Just give us the damn assignment already!"

"You ain't getting shit, until I get some stitches and some bandages in this motherfucker! CESAR!"

At the call of his name, Cesar scurried behind me and rushed out Ed with his helpful bag in hand. It always seemed to have everything in there whenever we went out on missions together, from medical supplies, food, and maps of any area we where in. He grabbed the afflicted hand and began to gently pull out the shards on by one. Every time he did, Ed screamed out even louder in pain. The sound became almost like a goat screaming out in fear, or a kid being taken to a doctor. Either way, it was getting pretty entertaining to watch him throw random stuff on his desk every time a shard was pulled out.

 **A few minutes later**

We all stood around the desk waiting while Ed cleared his throat. He brought out some documents from one of his drawers. From the looks of it, they were most likely details about the assignment. We went over what it entails yesterday briefly, but there were always things he might have overlooked.

"Excuse me." The girl had tugged at me sleeve with a curious expression on her face."Does that kind of thing happen often in this place?"

"Not always. Last time we got our assignment, he got his foot stuck in one of the floorboards which took us an entire our to get out, and before that he had gotten food poisoning from some bad sushi chicken he ate out of a knapsack that he found on the street as well having a hangover. This was a first."

"I...see." Clearly she was set aback by the whole thing. Not that I blame her.

Ed rubbed his now bandaged hand while flipping through pages of the documents.

"Now then...Let's get down to business."

"Finally." I whispered to myself. The girl next me had started to giggle. Did she really hear me?

"Since some of us weren't here when it happened, allow me to reintroduce her." He flashed his hand out at the girl as if presenting a grand and regal individual. Wait, don't tell me..."This right here, is Princess Jazmin Amaria, from the country of Esmana. And she's going to be your charge for this mission." I couldn't see it myself, but I could feel my own face turning grim and unsure of his mission. Was this naive girl really the representative of an entire country and the one we're supposed to escort? I still couldn't believe it, but the atmosphere I had gotten from her earlier certainly conveys that fact." As the record shows, you are to escort her to the capital of Edo where she will be negotiating a trade deal with the emperor for her people. Y'all have three days to pull it off. The people sponsoring it have already given us the down payment, so we can't let them down, you feel me?"

's eyebrow twitched.

"So this little lady is supposed to be our charge huh?"

The princess in question had bowed in front of all of us. Her long hair slid down her dress. It was frazzled yet natural in its texture and style with it all let down.

"I am Princess Jazmin. It is a pleasure to meet all of is my bodyguard Zechal." Even after the kind introduction, he continued to give me that piercing gaze. I could tell we were going to get along just fine. "It is an absolute honor to be escorted by such noble warriors as yourself on my mission of peace." She gave out a smile, only for it to be returned with a chortling laugh from Black Dynamite.

"You bastard! How dare you laugh in front of the princess in my presence!" The bodyguard snapped at an unflinching , even with steel being pressed to his face. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that despite a careful stance, his hand were shaking at the hilt. Judging by his stare, seemed to noticed that detail as well.

"Unless you want to go to war boy...you'll put that little fugly sword out of my face and put it pack in your pants where it belongs."

"I'm no boy!"

"The way you seem to get upset at the drop of a hat says otherwise."

Pretty soon, the princess had stepped in between the two.

"Please, that's enough. Zechal, stand down. Now." With that, the bodyguard complied immediately, and sheathed his sword once more. "Please excuse my bodyguard's behavior. He serves with dedication as you can see, but did you find humor in what I had just said master samurai?"

"We're not honorable warriors or these fighters of truth as you might think your highness. We're mercenaries plain and simple. We get hired to do things, take things to places...or even kill someone that needs to be killed. We're not in this to make names for ourselves. If I could speak freely, this is just another mission for us."

I always knew that he was honest, but to the face of royalty, that's a different situation to swallow. Contemplating the words spoken, the princess maintained her composure, despite him offering a sense of reality.

"Be that as it may, I still give my respect to any individual that follows the path of the swordsman, regardless of their intention. No ordinary soul could wield such a weapon and remain whole after using it."

"I don't know if you noticed, but any punk with a conscience a hold a sword and call themselves a samurai. We deal with them almost every week. You know, bad guys."

"True, but at the end of the day. Are they not fighting for what they believe in? To carve their own path with the sword that they hold in their hands? Is that not honorable in its own right? You claim that any person can wield a sword master samurai,but not everyone can bear the responsibility of defining themselves with it."

Black Dynamite was completely silent after that statement. Even I was shocked by what I heard and what I saw on her face. The face of a person who already has the idea or at least the concept of what it takes to change the world, and the people living in it, by addressing the issues. It was one of true focus and brazen properties. It seems she isn't as naive as she let on. The responsibility to define who they are, huh? I wish I could say words such as that so easily. He then let out a huge sigh.

"Oh man! This little lady is a piece of work. You deal with this lil' Huey, I can't bite my tongue on this one."

"Wait what?" I was even more shocked at what I heard. As soon as that was said, she eagerly turned to me, wearing that smile again.

"Ahh! So your name is master Huey is it?"

"Yes."

"Hmmm, I see." Her eyes began to inspect every part of me from top to bottom. "I can sense you have a rather distinct aura around you. It's so clear, yet muddled at the same time. How intriguing!"

"That doesn't even make sense. You can SENSE my aura"

"*giggles* I'm sorry. It is a...talent that I possess. It is difficult to express with words. Maybe one day, I will properly show you what it is. Other than that, I forsee you will be a great warrior some day."

"You can see the future too?"

"No man foresee the future unfortunately. It is only made by the actions that they convey through all means." I couldn't really argue with her, but I couldn't find the point of her words either, or at least their meaning.

"I guess so. I have yet to take the future into my own hands."

"As am I. Let us hope that this journey fulfills this for the both us!"

"Yeah. Sure." Her smiled shined through me yet again. It was one that I couldn't bare to look at. For whatever reasons.

"Alright now!" Ed's words then brought me to attention once more. " I'm counting on you suckas to finish this mission in the allotted time, which is three days."

"Not for nothing, but how exactly are we supposed to reach the capital in just three short days?" I asked him.

"Relax. I've arranged for transportation in a nearby village that's not that far from here for ya. It'll take you as far as Yamatai. Yo boy just ain't gonna leave you hanging like that in the wind! So just take it easy. Ceasar will be going along with you as your attendant as always. If you need anything, just holla at him, aight?!" We all responded in silence."Aight! So let's get this show on the muthafucking road!"

 **At the village gate**

We all stood in front of the towering gate as the keepers opened the doors, revealing the path in front of us. It was sight I've seen over a dozen times, but one I've never gotten used to witnessing. Especially now, since it will be the last time that I do. Black Dynamite had said teary goodbyes to all of his whores and orphans before joining us on our departure. Looking out at the village on last time, I saw everything about it. The place that had been my home all of these years was no longer to be to me. I took in every sight of this, and a sight that I thought I would never see showed itself in the distance. I saw them. My family, staring off at me as I saw them. They didn't bother to pursue, nor did they wave goodbye, and I knew exactly why.

"...Have you said your goodbyes?" Afro-sensei said to me in a gruff voice.

"No...and I don't think I ever will."

I couldn't tell if he knew what I meant by that, but I saw everything unfolding before me as the path I have taken for myself, so I didn't need that sentiment that came with my words.

"...So be it..." He told me before walking off. Black Dynamite had ran off following Sensei with floods of tears in his eyes, with the cheers and yells of his loved ones told him goodbye. Big guy, big emotions I guess. Ceasar then slowly walked up to me, gesturing me with a friendly nod before joining the others. As I began to turn my back on the home I have come to know for myself as what it is, the princess walked beside me and placed her hand on my shoulder.

"What's wrong? Is this not the first time you have left your home behind for purpose?" She noticed my unchanging expression as I began to pick up my feet proceeding forward. The flashes of all the things I have left behind laid out in front of me, and the times my feet had placed themselves in fair distance from them. All the time, there was always something and someone being left behind along with it.

"No...it's not." I told her honestly

I could no longer look behind me now. My body would no longer allow it. It could only move forward

 **CHAPTER 4 END**

 **Fro Ninja; Thank you so much for reading! Sorry this release took a while, but please stay tuned for the next chapter drop. Don't forget to favorite, follow, and leave a comment while you're at it to show some love!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Fro Ninja; Hey guys! It's the Fro Ninja here. Yes, I know I've been gone for a while now, but that was mainly because I was going through a lot of things. I.e. work, moving to a new place, getting situated with personal stuff, and because of all that, I just didn't feel like writing anything. While the ideas were all there, the motivation wasn't. I fear if I try to write the stories with no motivation, it leads to quality less than ordeal, and it makes me upset in the process. I still intend to update my series, but since I'm dealing others besides this one, I've decided to update all of my series once a month, at least until I can trust myself to update one of them weekly, so look forward to any of the series that you're following from me to being updated sometime this month. Now without further ado, let's get this show on the road!**

 _ **Several days ago**_

 _ **The Kingdom of Esmania**_

 _ **Meeting Cahmbers**_

 _The Esmanian council room buzzed with the various voices of the many different councilors, all sitting around in a half circle formation, sitting in front of the two individuals in well carved chairs. A man and a woman dressed in regal and lavish garbs sat before the entire body of the councilors, their heads covered with white clean wrappings, fashioning like a hat. The man sported a very worried and meek expression on his rather small light dark skinned face, his eyes darting around the room in anxiety. The woman sitting nexting to him, who was in a very white pale skinned comparison, grabbed his shaking hand and rubbed it softly to calm him down along with a kindly look in her sparking blue eyes._

 _After a while of personal deliberation among the aged men and women, a loud banging sound echoed throughout the spacious meeting room, which had reduced the volume to absolute silence. One of the councilors stood up from his lotus style position, and looked around the room before bowing to all present in respect._

 _"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of the Council. Your majesties, Tohmas and Serah. With your permission, we would like to begin this meeting with the most utmost priority." The man said with a calm but rugged voice. He was a rather dark skinned man, dressed in lavish robes with blue silk and golden embroidery with a handsomely shaven head, even better complimented by his most youthful appearance. The expression on his face was a pleasant he displayed for all to witness. King Tohmas had waved his hand slightly,allowing him to continue."Thank you my King. It is with the most imperative motivation, that I inform the council, especially for those who might not be aware, but the time of war, is upon us."_

 _As he finished, quiet ramblings could be heard behind him, from many of the members in the back of the room._

 _"Please everyone, silence please until he has finished speaking." said the King, to which all the rambling had ceased almost immediately."Now then, Councilor Herron. Just how did you come across to this conclusion? I want full details."_

 _"Certainly your majesty." He cleared his throat before speaking again."As many of you know, the nation of Esmana is one of the worlds most thriving countries on the continent at the moment. Our innovations in technology, medicine, food, and even social laws have made us progressive culture in the eyes of our peers. Yet, so few nations are aware of our existence. The reason? For the longest time, our ancestors have tried to their best to impede any mention of this place outside of its territories, even if it meant resorting to...rather barbaric means."_

 _One other councilor raised his hand in the middle of his speech._

 _"Apologies my King. I believe we all did not come here to attend a history lecture of our own people. We came because our illustrious councilor had a message to belay to the rest of us, that concerned our way of life, as it were..." Herron leered at the speaker, with slight animosity in his eyes._

 _"Your point is indeed fair, Councilor Karel. Please, proceed to your main argument, Councilor Herron."_

 _His irritated expression quickly transitioned into a humble one when facing the king. A rather brief change that his queen took notice of._

 _"Forgive me my King. But I did not wish to express such vital news without any context, and simply desired to remind everyone of our glorious history among the various peoples that strengthen it to this day. You and the queen take full credit of that of course."_

 _The queen leaned forward in her seat, with her long and luscious blonde hair swinging over her shoulders._

 _"While your compliment over our ability to govern our kingdom efficiently is appreciated, it still strikes from the request that your king has asked of you."_

 _Herron's eyebrow twitched._

 _"But of course, forgive me, my Queen. My King. Members of the council. Allow me to proceed." He then walked out from the aile that he sat in, and began to pace around the room."Now, where was I? Ah, yes. While we are a rather isolated nation, the ones that do know about, have viewed us with either admiration, fear, or sometimes, even jealousy, at our progress as a culture. It has come to my attention, granted to me by my helpful contacts, that one of these very nations seek to assault with the intention of conquering our very people."_

 _"And what is this nation, pray tell councilor?" The King spoke with a concerned voice. All eyes locked on the movement of Councilor Herron. suddenly he stopped in his tracks when coming to the front row._

 _"That is...the nation of Kisasi." The mention of the name made the entire room shake on shock and despair._

 _"Unbelievable!" One of the councilors shouted. Among the whispers, many silent screams were uttered from mouth to mouth._

 _"This is inconceivable of the most colossal scale!"_

 _"W-what the...well, t-the man must be lying!" Heron stood back in stance._

 _"I have been called many a things councilors, your majesties! But a liar is nay one of them." Suddenly, one of the eldest councilmen stood up shakingly from his seat, hastily limping over to Heron, grabbing him by the neck of his robes._

 _"Impossible!You have gone mad for the last time Heron!" The calm young councilor stayed still in his grasp, and offered his response._

 _"This is no sign of madness my good elder. This is but the truth I speak, and nothing but."_

 _"The Kisasi nation have been our enemies in the past, back when Zulu warriors reigned supreme of the land, but we have since agreed on our differences and gone our separate ways, as with the other clans as well. This is was over a 100 years ago, and suddenly you belay to us that they plan to attack and invade us?!" The old man spoke with surprising vigor._

 _"What's to stop a supreme nation such as them to attack a tiny kingdom such as ours? Need I remind you that they were on of the few to gain their lands back by martial means from the Europeans? Not only that, they had accumulated what technology and resources they had as well to accelerate their own."_

 _"We are well aware of the abnormal growth as a people, Councilor Heron." King Tohmas spoke._

 _"Then you know full well of the potential they have as an attacking force against us, my King!"_

 _"Be that as it may, we have not the time, nor the ability to mobilize ourselves for war. Not in the middle of the negotiations we have arranged for our kingdom." Heron chuckled and smirked as he broke free of the elders grasp._

 _"Negotiations?" He walked slowly towards the two thrones. The two guards remained tense as he did not bow his head upon approach."Are you referring to the negotiations that lie with the Empire where the sun rises? With all due respect my King, it is but a waste of time to arrange such events with them."_

 _"Oh? And why is that?"_

 _"The empire solemnly makes negotiations with countries that lie outside of their borders. Their very morals depend on their isolation as a whole to maintain every part of their structure. Their economy. Their infrastructure. Their culture. Their traditions."_

 _"Similarities that we seem to both share no?" The queen interjected in Heron's speech, causing his eyebrow to twitch slightly in frustration._

 _"Be that as it may...my queen we are..."_

 _"A kingdom that uses tradition and bylaws set by desperate warriors and mad shamans as excuses to move forward in our stride, when we should be performing of our own accord. There is no divine passage that says for us to expand our knowledge of the world around us, that is separate from the general matters of religion, or purely academics. Our universal truth, our way of thinking should also be factors in such exploration. For too long, this nation has stood as one that profits on war and invasion, as have many others in the past. It is only very recently that we have implemented such a change, by removing ourselves far from the affairs of the mainland to the East."_

 _"Many of them still hold animosity for such a change. They called our actions ludicrous, blasphemy, something that goes against the teachings of our ancestors."_

 _"Our ancestors provided the passage to blaze our own trails, so that we may our children adapt the teachings that we laid out for them. This requires us to be every bit of the example that we strive to be."_

 _Heron held his tongue."Is that not the duty we must perform, councilman?" He breathed heavily through his nose._

 _"Indeed it is, my queen...How wonderful for you to offer such a insightful counsel...on the history of..._ _ **our**_ _people." The Queens eyes narrowed as they focused on the man in front of her. King Tohmas then cleared his throat, as if two break up a possible argument between the two._

 _"That's enough with the history debate you two. We've called this meeting for a reason." He then turned his attention to Heron, and beckoned him to the podium by the thrones, with a stand high enough to overlook the entire chambers."Now then, Heron, if you could please offer your proof as to your statement. I shall give you the floor to give your findings."_

 _He bowed deeply._

 _"It would be my pleasure, my King."_

 _The queen took an unsure expression as the councilor took the high stand, and the rest of the councilmen sat in full attention._

* * *

 _ **An hour later**_

 _Serene sounds of water falling splashed through the various weeds of the greenery, flowing through the many flowers fields and patches of plants of the garden, which had spread over what seemed like miles. Birds sung songs of peace and praise as they flew off into the blue and pleasant sky that held white pure clouds as they rolled by._

 _A young girl sat in one of the garden's meadows, cooled by the great shade of the enormous tree that she sat under, although the she didn't mind the sun as well. Her eyes closed with a pleasant smile on her face, as her long frizzled yet flowing hair flowed in the wind. Her hands clamped together by their fingers, and her legs crossed in her position of meditation._

 _"Princess!" A voice in a faroff distance called out to her, but she didn't budge to respond. After a few seconds, the one who sounded off the voice, a young man in the warriors garb of the royal army, with a special red sash only given to members of the personal guard, the most elite of all of its participants. He approached the back of the princess, out of breath."Princess! I've been looking all over for you...the King and Queen...they request your-"_

 _"Shh..." The young soldier stopped in the middle of his sentence as the princess requested silence."I hope you haven't forgotten the teachings that even nature has ears Zechal. Even the most tiniest of cry can upset it, albeit its the quiet kind."_

 _"F-forgive my interruption of your meditation my lady."_

 _"There is no need to apologize. I was just finishing up." The princess then gracefully stood up from her spot in the flowers, slowly opening and revealing her light, olive eyes that could match even the most beautiful of jewels would be jealous of, given they could. She then turned around, with a smile to great her guardsman. He blushed slightly at the sight of her, which she found amusing as she lightly giggled. Even though they had been together since they were children, he could not quite get used to the beautiful sight of her."I see you remain as stoic as ever."_

 _"P-please do not worry Princess Jazmin Nothing shall shirk my duty to protect you. I will remove myself from such thoughts should it bother you!"_

 _The princess then sighed._

 _"This is is exactly what I'm talking about..." She then walked past him and touched the tree deeply with her hands, as if she were trying to sink her hands into the very wood itself. Zechal looked at her with concerned eyes._

 _"Something happened didn't it? A vision?"_

 _She giggled._

 _"You can tell?"_

 _"Not really. We've been together all of these years, but I can rarely tell what you're thinking. You truly are king's daughter aren't you? That same power that the past kings all held flows strongly through you it seems."_

 _"Hmm, I don't look at it so much as a power fortunately. I'm afraid such a thought will drive me to arrogance."_

 _"But yet it's yours."_

 _"True enough. But I am thankful for it, despite my previous statement."_

 _Zechal then drew a little a closer, with his hands behind his back._

 _"So...what did happen? It's unlike you to meditate for such a long period, especially when the Oracle isn't around to teach you."_

 _Jazmin was quiet for a brief moment, simply hearing the sound of the wind breeze through her ears before speaking again._

 _"I had a vision. It's one of I've been having for some time now."_

 _"Is it one of danger? An omen of sorts?"_

 _"I don't know what to make of it, sadly. All I see in it, is...a boy."_

 _"A boy?" Zechal's nostrils flared up a little when she mentioned that detail._

 _"Yes. I don't know him. I've never even seen him in passing before. He was standing in a white garment of sorts, in a raining field surrounded by...what I think are several warriors all dressed in a very strange armor. He's holding a sword, that I've never seen before. It was curved and more thinner than the ones the soldiers 's also covered in many injuries, but it doesn't seem like a concern to him as he walks towards them. I can't see his face at all. Only his back as it gets further and further away from me." Her hands slides down the tree."I don't know this boy, yet..." Suddenly, tears slowly start to flow from her eyes, which Zechal takes full notice of."As I see him walking away, my eyes began to well up."_

 _"Who is this boy?! Where is he?! I'll make him pay for making you cry!" He said as he eagerly drew his sword._

 _"Oh stop it Zechal. I said I never met him before, did I not?"_

 _"Uhh...you...might have mentioned it..."_

 _"And put your sword away please. You'll scare the creatures."_

 _"M-my apologies, my lady." He reluctantly puts away his sword."I just can't stand to you sad over such a thing. And over a boy you've never met!"_

 _"I am not sad." Zechal stood shocked as she said that." For some reason, I am not sad, yet I cannot control the tears that fall down on my face. I wonder what that means?"_

 _"You should see the Oracle about this. She always seems to figure out your dreams."_

 _"If I am expected to succeed her, I cannot keep running to her every time I have such visions. I have to be capable of deciphering them myself on my own terms."_

 _"But didn't she say if you had any questions about these powers, you should always seek her out? I'm certain this is one of those times."_

 _"I am fully aware what she said to me...it's just..." She formed an unsure look on her face._

 _"What is it?_

 _"This dream...I have no idea what it means, yet...the boy in it...he feels so familiar to me..." At the mention of the boy from the vision yet again, Zechal's nostrils flared up once again._

 _"The more you mention this boy, the more I grow suspicious of such ilk of a dream. I have half a mind to send a large search party for him right now!" His said with his fist gripped tight with some unknown determination. The princess sighed as she walked on ahead."Ah! Please wait my lady! You would prefer a smaller search party instead right?! Smaller numbers, better results...as expected of you!"_

 _"Oh hush with your silliness old friend. Take me to my parents. You said they wish to see me, correct?"_

 _"Oh...indeed they do. They await you in the throne room back at the palace. I had a feeling that you would be out here meditating beyond the allotted time, so they told me not rush upon bringing you back."_

 _The princess puffed out here cheeks a little in embarrassment._

 _"Well...thank you for being so courteous..." She said in a sarcastic tone. The two walked towards the exit of the garden while the wind continued to blow furiously in their direction. Both of them sensed the change in the sudden gust as it flowed past them."The wind...it's changed..." She said softly._

 _"It seems we can expect change to come along with it..."_

 _"I fear you may be right..."_

* * *

 _Back at the palace, in the lavish throne room, made up of the dozens of fancy and grand accessories to show off its lavishness and exotic flavor. The king circled around his throne, pacing repeatedly back and forth from his seat to the wall. Occasionally, he stopped to take a drink of his special wine, look out of the window with a sorrowful expression, sigh heavily with a voice that gave the impression of him almost crying, and then proceeded once again on his path to do the whole thing over again._

 _Queen Serah looked at him with a helpless smile as she shook his head at his worrying. She then stood from her seat with help from one of the servants, and placing her book on a nearby desk to walk over to her husband. She stopped him with one gentle arm, causing him to stop directly in his tracks, and look at her with giant puppy eyes._

 _"Tohmas...you must stop worrying so much..." She reassured him._

 _"Me? Worrying? Impossible...A King never worries in the face of his duties!" He then grabbed his head, shaking slowly."Especially...the inevitable destruction...of his kingdom... Gods..."_

 _Serah sighed with relief, as she was worried she wouldn't be able to get at least a word out of him ever since coming back from the meeting. The news belayed by Heron practically had the entire council in an uproar at what the future could hold upon the reveal of the news._

 _"I never pegged you as someone that would get so upset by something that Herron, of all people mentioned. You are letting your fear get the better of you...more so than usual anyway..."_

 _"I'm not upset Serah..."_

 _"But?"_

 _"The proof that he presented...three raids on the southern, western, eastern borders of the continent...as well as armed interventions performed at the peace rallies at Ghana, the Congo...all done with...these...mysterious weapons. I just have a hard time believing it all..."_

 _"That what? That the Kisasi might be coming after us? Tohm, Esmana has long since settled their differences with their ancestors, what could possibly incite them to attack us now..."_

 _"That's the part I'm trying to figure out..."_

 _ **"The more you think of such matters, you shall find myself aging faster to my age my King."**_ _An old hoarse voice sounded out from the farther part of the room. The two focused their attention on the elderly woman covered in a large brown cloak fleshed out with various colored beads and jewels along the cloth. She walked with a severe limp and hunched back. Her age confirmed even further by the large cane held onto by both arms, creating a a rather large sounding clonk whenever she walked. The queen quickly walked out to her and grabbed her hands with glee._

 _"Madame Oracle! It's been so long!"_

 _"My Queen. It's good to see you in such good health. You've grown into such a lovely woman now."_

 _Tohmas reluctantly walked over to with sweaty palms all over._

 _"M-madame Oracle. I-I see you've received my message...I was worried that-"_

 _The old woman sneered at the King._

 _"What? That the old croon that used to tuck the crying little prince into bed one those many nights had suddenly keeled over in a dirty forest somewhere?Huh?"_

 _"No! I would never!...I mean...well..." He stated to trip tremendously on his words, causing Serah, even some of the female servants to giggle quietly._

 _"Oh! I'm just kidding you old boy. You always did take everything so damn seriously!" She said as she pulls him down by his cheeks, pinching them while chuckling."How you managed to get this beauty of a woman to marry, I can not in all of my abilities figure it out." The oracle then began to laugh out loud in a crooked voice, that almost sounding like she was coughing._

 _"That's all well in good, but, can you please let me go! My cheeks feel like they're about to fall off!" The entirety of the throne room burst out laughing as the King tried his best to weasel out of the old woman's surprisingly iron grasp._

 _A few moments later,, the two rulers took their original seats, while the Oracle took hers on the floor, with her legs wrapped up in a lotus style her, she had spread out many estranged items such as the carcass of a scorpion, green leaves from a dying tree, a skull from a past king, and a small carving knife, all put together on an old looking towel and began to meditate in front of them. She clasped her hands together as if along with her beads in hand, as if she were saying a prayer as she muttered strange cryptic words from her mouth while staying a very deep trance in order to make contact with the forces that govern reality. Not Gods, but something else. It was once said that all people of Esmana once had the gift see through such things, and command these forces themselves to do their bidding, but as the passage of time will tell it, it was lost like so many other things with it._

 _Even though he should have been used to such sights from his time spent with her as a child, the sight of her foretelling had always made the King rather uncomfortable as a whole still._

 _"Umm..." He muttered under his breath, as she sat there for about ten minutes in silence."Lady Oracle..." She then took a piece of her bead necklace off and threw it at the King's head, landing square on the forehead._

 _"Silence! You know better than to interrupt me boy!"_

 _"I'm sorry!" He whimpered as if he were a child, somewhat unfitting of one would expect of a ruler._

 _Many more minutes passed before the silence was filled again. The Oracle finally opened her eyes from her concentration. She then takes a pipe out from the confines of her cloak,lights it, and then sticks it in her mouth. After a taking a few puffs, she finally started to speak._

 _"I'm sorry my King...The result, is still the same."_

 _"Are you sure there isn't any other way?" The King said with a worried voice._

 _"As much as I want to say the opposite, this...threat that the Kisasi intend to rein upon your kingdom. It is inevitable." The Oracle rubbed the back of her neck, giving it a slight stretch."However, it should be noted that the future is difficult to see in the first place. It is a thing...a living force that is always moving, always shifting and changing with every passing action that we take. Even me, with all of my experience...it is still impossible."_

 _The King's eyes dart around the room, trying to find words to leave his mouth._

 _"I just still can scarcely believe it."_

 _"What's not to believe exactly? As I recall, our ancestors didn't part ways on the most civil of terms, especially since the days of that ridiculous incident with all of those bloated white men. But after all of this time, one must wonder why." As she fiddled with her various tools and ritual artifacts,Tohmas started to fidget, which the Oracle caught out of the corner of her eye."_

 _"Then...the expedition...the negotiations with the empire to the East. Will it not solve anything? At least to help us prepare for this invasion that is supposed to come?"_

 _"It's hard to say. I have not heard the details of this journey you plan to make, or these negotiations that will take place, but I have heard the rumblings of the council meeting that took place earlier this morning. And as much as it pains me to side with him, I would take the side of the frail limp of a man Herron in his word on this matter. There is no need to involve foreigners in the affairs of the kingdom. We're better of without the need of outsiders anyhow."_

 _"But they could help us!" The King's voice began to pick up volume."We may be one of the most prominent kingdoms on the continent, but we have lost much over the past several decades! Things aren't the same as they used to be!"_

 _"And you honestly believe the influence of some foreign kingdom can be of any to help of us? After what the last group did to us? Splitting, exploiting, and destroying traditions from so many of our fellow allies? Taking their men and women for their own twisted desires? After all of that, you believe that they will lend us aid?"_

 _"Not all foreigners are cut from the same ilk! This kingdom are like us. Isolationists. They do not side with any other people but their own."_

 _"How can you even say that about them, when they themselves cannot even stick together? Hosting a war in several of the regions, families aiming to seize higher statuses for themselves, killing their own countrymen in the process. They're honestly like flailing little children that can't even see their own house burning down around them. And I bet their ruler is just is as ridiculous."_

 _"And what people in history have never fought among themselves before and came together in the end? Isn't this what you taught me to always believe?"_

 _"Believe in the good of others and how conflict can lead to the betterment of oneself yes. But running to beg for the aid of foreign children because your inability to take care of the affairs of your own country by_ _ **yourself**_ _? I could never foresee you growing so foolish. For over millenia, not once has this Kingdom sought the aid of outsiders, and I see no reason for that to change."_

 _"So in your eyes, all of them are enemies, is that it? We should invade them and tear apart their culture as they did ours?!"_

 _"_ _ **If need be.**_ _"_

 _"Lady Oracle!" The whole room grew silent. The servants paused in their activities as all eyes came to be locked on the Queen, focusing great detail on her white pale skin, flowing blonde hair and sea colored blue left better unsaid began to surface in many of their hearts. The Oracle didn't budge at the context of her statement even when sensing the mood she brought on, but the Queen felt no offense as she reacted with her usual smile._

 _"Of course, I meant no offense to My Queen." The Oracle openly stated."You must forgive this old lady for her aged beliefs. A type I imagine you're rather tired of hearing from by now."_

 _"Trust me. There is no offense taken wise one. Despite my status, I am still aware of my position as a person in this country, and I have to say, I barely feel any connection to the life I left behind, nor the appearance the connects me to it. I am well aware of what the Europeans and later the Americans have done to you. And there is no denying that I was born into such conditions where I had seen it almost everyday."_

 _"I hear a but coming..." The Oracle whispered under her breath._

 _"But as it stands, I am the Queen of Esmana. I govern the well being of the people and structure of the kingdom along with my husband. Whatever life, whatever people I was born into is irrelevant. I am proud to be who I am now. And I take pride in my duties as Queen."_

 _"It's good that you do my dear. Nor should you." The Oracle then stood up from her spot and walked over to the Queen."Imagine my surprise when I no only learned that the young prince was to be married to a woman, and to a lass from the land of the West of all things, you can pretty much tell that I was surprised, to the point where I wanted to leave the mountains and slap him a couple hundred times. But...I was not disgusted. After all,despite his shortcomings...he is by no means an absolute fool without any understanding of how people work. I knew he had made the right choice, even without me foreseeing anything. Plus the union caused you two bring your daughter in this life, which I am sure you two are grateful beyond all measure for."_

 _"Well, I am certainly glad that you see it that many others on the day of the ceremony."_

 _"One that I wish was there for, if it wasn't for me and these silly pilgrimages I constantly must oversee."_

 _"We all have our duties that we must attend. You perform yours with such adequacy." The Queen complimented the Oracle with sincerity._

 _"As do you my dear. Save for the King of course."_

 _"Ummm...I am right here you know..."_

 _"And trust me when I say, we are all slightly disappointed at the presence."_

 _The King appeared with a heavy blush, as the Oracle pointed at him singling him out of everyone in the chambers. Suddenly, flashes of his childhood came racing back to him in an instant. Summer mornings spent in the palace as a boy, being babysittted by the elderly woman herself. Being forced to sit in her demeaning lectures on what should be expected from a king, and from being coerced to eat and drink her questionable cooking that would make his stomach swirl and turn like tornadoes. Even the nights with constant study in the library without sleep haunted his dreams, since should eyes even close, a scorpion would be added down towards his neck, pinching his very frail skin._

 _As the memories came close to flooding back, he shook them off, and remembered his very place, and the duty he's supposed to uphold._

 _He then cleared his throat and said "If we get back on track then?"_

 _The Oracle raised an eyebrow in slight doubt, but followed through with the request regardless by returning to her spot. Tohmas then gestured to one of the servants to fetch him the official documents, relating to the expedition. It was a long and wide looking scroll that seemed to stretch on for a considerable distance along the smooth and comfortable floor of the throne room. Upon closer inspection, were several words documenting ship registries, map routes, and financial seals to go over with foreign leaders that the King would establish in order set up trade deals for various resources. It had taken him several weeks to produce, in the off chance that Esmaria should go to war once more. This was indeed was one of those times._

 _Though she wasn't a scholar at heart, the Oracle was the wisest person in the kingdom, and she easily saw the through the intent of what Tohmas intented to do with this deal and intervened as she finished reading the portion that landed over by her feet._

 _"And this is the solution you've managed to cook up in the little brain of yours?"_

 _"Yes! I've gone over all of the details of the trip, including expenses, transportations, even the selection of resources that can be traded to the ruler of the kingdom through us."_

 _"Aren't you missing the most important factor of all?"_

 _"Not to my knowledge...I've done all of the calculations and made all of the prepartations...What else could I be missing."_

 _"By the spirits. You haven't retained a thing from my teachings haven't you?"_

 _"Besides how to mix Mongiku juice? No a lot."_

 _The Oracle deeply sighed as shook the scroll with a focused expression._

 _"Even though an artist still has the concept and the paper necessary to paint his vision. He cannot do so without the brush, his most important tool of all."_

 _"Are you saying that I need to include a brush as part of the resources we need for the invasion."_

 _The Oracle rushed over to the King's chair and smacked him on the head, moving at a breakneck speed as if she were still in her prime, a truly amazing sight to all who witnessed it._

 _"OWWW!" Tohmas yelped in pain._

 _"Who will be the one to_ _ **lead**_ _this foolish adventure of yours boy?!"_

 _The sentence then struck a thought to Tohmas, one that had surprisingly slipped past him in all of his calculations of the expedition to the Empire._

 _"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I completely forgot about that!" He let out a huge scream that capped everyone's eardrums._

 _"*sigh* And this is the King you married my lady."_

 _"I...try not think about it too much..." Sarah said with her best attempts at a smile._

 _He then tried to assemble the guards in his throne room to deliberate who would be the most suitable, but going over it was redundant at this point, seeing as how the trip was set for the day after tomorrow according to the documents, which meant preparation must be made a day early for departure. He had no time to look for a decent volunteer._

 _"I honestly can't believe I overlooked such a crucial element!" He said with face filled with despair."I'll have to call an emergency rally at this point if I even want to stay on schedule..."_

 _ **"That won't be necessary."**_ _Another voice came out as the doors to the throne room opened up. Behind it were the princess and her bodyguard who stumbled down to the floor from leaning on the doors as they moved. Quickly picking himself up, he bowed in respect to the higher figures in the room._

 _"My King! My Queen! And Madame Oracle! We apologize for the intrusion, but I...have ...uh...brought the princess...as per your request!" Zechal nervously shouted at the top of his lungs._

 _"Yes, thank you Zechal. Your service is appreciated as always." The Queen calmly thanked the young guard."Now then...my daughter...where have you been this whole time? You weren't at the meeting today."_

 _"I know, it turns out I didn't need to be. I already know what it was in regards 's expedition, correct?"_

 _"Hahaha! Well...I see the young princesses habit of eavesdropping still hasn't gone away yet!" The old woman started to laugh as she approached her. The princess opened her arms, embracing the Oracle, not only as a sign of respect for her social better, but as her spritual teacher as well._

 _"Master! Oh, it's so great to see you again! I've missed you so much!"_

 _"As have I my dear. Zechal my boy! I see you still cling to the princess like sweat from a baboons balls"_

 _Zechal twitched slightly._

 _"Always a pleasure, Lady Oracle..." He said gritting his teeth._

 _" Yes yes, I'm sure it is. Ease up some boy, your 'honor is showing'. So serious! Then again your father was the same way. Never could crack a smile even as a boy. But Jazmin on the other hand, you've grown so lovely since I last seen you. Your hair suits you so much now."_

 _"Thank you master. As much as I would love to catch up with you, I actually have something important to discuss with my parents."_

 _"Well, we are here my daughter, but I fear it may have to wait until later. I have to make an announcement to my guards and try to find a participant to take part in the expedition."_

 _"My conversation is just that father." Everyone looked at Jazmin in confusion at her statement._

 _"_ _ **I want to lead the expedition."**_

 **CHAPTER 5 END.**

 **Fro Ninja; Did you guys enjoy that little ditty? If you did, be sure to leave a comment, favorite, follow, and share this story on all of you favorite social media sites. If you don't well, I'm just gonna let my AK do the talking on that front...Peace! And remember, one love!**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Fro Ninja:Hey guys! I know I've been gone a while, but I'm not gonna bore you with the details why. Let's get into the action!**_

 _ **A day later.**_

 _ **The Capital City of Esmania, Shieda**_

 _ **Town Ports**_

 **Jazmin's POV**

 _I had never layed my eyes out to witness so much blue in my life before, from skies to sea that stretched out in front of me.. It was almost like one of my dreams, waiting for me to reach out to it. The wind blowing past my hair was pleasant supplement to what was to await beyond the borders of my home. Despite its intentions. I took one step closer to large crew ship that stood on the farther side of the port, decorated and lavished with the finest exterior. I would prefer if Father wouldn't provide such an obvious indication of the presence of foreign diplomat, but he will be savvy to my comfort I suppose._

 _Zechal rushed up to my side, seeming to carry luggage that would guarantee three lifetimes, packed onto each of his hands._

 _"Zechal? What are all of these things? Surely you would never think to overpack for our voyage."_

 _"Forgive me Princess, but in truth this is actually YOUR luggage?" I felt the side of my cheeks blush bright red._

 _"My luggage? You would think I would be taking first class on a cruise, not a diplomatic mission to another country. Did my father put you up to this task?"_

 _"As a matter of fact..." I saw sweat drop down in his cheek as I asked him. Father I swear..._

 _"Well take it back. I would have no need for such over excessive baggage. Where we are going, we shall attempt to make due with the bare necessities."_

 _"Do you think that's wise? I've heard many rumors about this Land of the Rising Sun that we visit. They have warriors that wield these oddly shaped swords, and their diet consists of nothing but rice and water. Not only that, they are very keen on their foreign arrivals. Such as us." Zechal almost sounded afraid and cautious at the same time. I thought of such things the whole time even as I slept. To visit another environment beyond your surroundings, is like journeying to another world, my mother used to say. I wonder if this is how she felt when you came here and met father. I didn't know what to expect, but surely I would have to encounter the truth sooner or later._

 _"I'm well aware of the unknowns that await us in these lands. All present rumors excluded of course, and it definitely behooves us to go well equipped..."_

 _"Your highness..."_

 _"But then again, where's the fun of adventure without the fear of the unknown to strike your heart? *giggles*"_

 _"Of course...why did I expect any different?" I give him a tiny slap on the back as he was starting to slump in his position."Oww!"_

 _"Shape up my bodyguard! Never forget your position, not even for a second! You musn't shirk your duties and more than I should!"_

 _"Hmmph. All of my life has been committed to performing my duty of protecting you. That's all I've been taught ever since I was a babe. Since the day I could hold a sword, my father made time for me to learn nothing but how to wield and defend with a weapon in hand, and to fight against the opponent in front of me. To give him no breath. Everyday was filled with grueling exercise and painful discipline. I never even got to enjoy my childhood as it were."_

 _"But you became stronger for it, didn't you?"_

 _"Perhaps I did, but it's not like the teacher was a shining example of a good guide. Constant beatings and abusive drills. Being taught a soldier or a man for that matter must never show any weakness, no matter his situation. All on a child. One would think that someone of his respected stature would have some restraint when passing on his skills to a new generation, to not drive them away from its craft, and that's not even the worst part" As I hear Zechal ramble on for the next minute, I then see a familiar figure approach behind him, tall, muscular, bald with a bird shaped tatoo across his forehead, and armed to the head with a special silver forged sword hastened fast to his hip, wearing the special Kingsguard armor that only high ranking officials in military could wear, and have earned the respect of father. I cough leniently to try and signal him to stop his rant."Can you believe that he even tried to get rid of my overall fear by constantly scaring me out of my sleep as a child?! As if that would do any the torture continues even now. I swear, I'll be glad to leave him for at least a few days at the most."_

 _"Ummm...Zechal." I then point past him to the giant man with the displeased face._

 _"He's...standing right behind me...isn't he?"_

 _I silently nodded._

 _Suddenly the giant man picked Zechal off the ground and into his arms, making him drop his bags across the floor, and started giving him a bear hug._

 _"Well now! My son has truly think he has outgrown his own teacher, let alone his own father! Perhaps he needs a reminder on why our positions have been decided by the Gods and not the mouth of the small minded hmmm?!" The giant man gave out a hearty laugh that put slight fear into the other people walking around the sea port, even catching some stares. Not that it bothered him a tiny bit._

 _"I, like all father's consider it a privilege seeing their son grow up into the man that they could never be themselves, to acquire the skills they learned themselves as practice for their real world appliances such as this!"_

 _"Practice for stuff like...what?! Breaking out...of a bear hug?!" After some struggling, Zechal finally broke free of his father's clutch. He tried to throw a few punches at him which were easily caught."Ahhh, though you're lessons were well taught, you still have much to learn young Zechal."_

 _"Hopefully the teacher isn't you."_

 _"Hahaha! Indeed! The greatest teacher of all, is life itself! Oh and it's lessons are harsh indeed. Why you almost wish that its toll were more rewarding than risky, at least how it fares to many!"_

 _"Or how it fares to the few. Like yours truly!" Zechal puffed his chest out in pride, which had earned silence from the both of us."What? No standing ovation for that one?" His father then slapped his chest back into him._

 _"Oh stop your dribble boy. I didn't come for your delusions of grandeur and wild imaginations." He then walked past Zechal and bowed down to one knee in front of me."Your highness, it always a pleasure to see you."_

 _"Likewise General Zahn." General Zahn. Leader of the Esmarian Military Assault and Defense Forces, and my father's personal bodyguard, and Zechal's father. Whenever my parents were away on business, he would often spend time with me as a child, telling me about his many stories of his conquests, battles, and even giving me some pointers in self defense."I imagine you've heard the news."_

 _"Indeed I have. It saddens me that after not seeing you for so long, our reunion is so short lived. Would I have some say in the matter about this voyage you are being sent on..."_

 _"You don't have to worry too much about it General. This journey is one of my own decision. My father has nothing do with it."_

 _"Strong minded independence eh? I wonder you inherited that from."_

 _"I can make a few guesses." We both began to chuckle, until we heard a sharp cough to which our laughing was cut abruptly._

 _"Oh hahaha. Very funny. Let's have my own bodyguard encourage my daughter of making fun of me why don't we all?" Father walked over to where we were. Mother was also with him, as was a bunch of other servants carrying what I assume is the rest of the luggage that Zechal was referring to earlier._

 _"It was merely a simple jest your Majesty. To downright insult you would mean to insult the very kingdom I have sworn to protect."_

 _"Well that's good."_

 _"Although it doesn't hurt..." He whispered to me,causing me to laugh once more._

 _"Hey! I heard that!" My father started to puff his cheeks out in embarrassment. My mother soon stepped in._

 _"Now, now. I would assume the Kings shield and the king himself wouldn't act unsightly in front of the future heir and her noble knight, would they?" As soon as she said that, both General Zahn and my father had straightened up their attitudes as well as their bodies. She then nodded in approval."Very good gentlemen." Oh to be like my mother. "We all came here to here to wish our only daughter well Tohmas. Let us not ruin it for her."_

 _"Less luggage would definitely help." I said._

 _"Less luggage. How much less exactly?" My father worriedly asked._

 _"How about all of it for starters?"_

 _Father's face soon turned pale as a ghost._

 _"But! This luggage was taken from the finest merchants and artisans in the city. The finest clothes from the seamstresses. Crafts, jewelry, pottery."_

 _"Ideal for a recreational cruise father, not an ambassadors vessel. Even the decorations for the ship are just a tad..." I then point out to the white velvet strings hanging from the bow, and sighed."...overbearing"_

 _"B-b-but, my daughter, The Princess! Deserves her very best attire and accessories when venturing to a foreign country. To represent peoples well!"_

 _As I let out a silent sigh, My mother stepped in the middle of my father's desperate pandering._

 _"My king. If your daughter knows the luggage and belongings that she must travel with on this journey, then she knows what's best for her on all aspects. She has demonstrated her thinking is already that of a worthy heir to the throne time and time again, including her decision to being a part of this voyage. Allow her this freedom just once."_

 _My father started to pace around us, with a clearly worried look on his face, his default expression as it were. After a minute of pondering the words of my mother, he cleared his throat before speaking._

 _"Very well..." He turned to me, placing his hands on my shoulder. His face had formed into one that I had only ever seen once. His eyes were focused with perfect contortion in his face, with nothing moving out of place. It was the face of a true ruler, one that once your eyes feasted upon it, all of your attention was garnered, as was mine."My daughter, I have heard both the words of you, and my Queen, and I have come to the decision of allowing you to choose for yourself on this journey. Admittedly, I am still, very, very, VERY, much against you going with very little knowledge of the outside of world, but I applaud you for stepping up and taking a duty that very few would even consider for the sake of their country. Despite my constant worrying, concern for you..."_

 _"The bickering, don't forget the bickering." The general blurted out in my father's very seldom serious moment. Surprisingly, he didn't have a funny smirk or look in his face, rather it remained unchanged from his rare serious face._

 _"General Zecham. I am conversing with my daughter. I would have you hold all comments until I finish my message to her, even more so if they are merely to jest."_

 _The general then straightened up as he heard my father's words, like a true bodyguard would to his charge, and not just him, everyone around us had stopped to take notice of the King's presence._

 _"In short, I only do so much, and try to provide so much is because I always want to remind you that you always have a home to come back to, and should you ever feel alone in this world, the things that I give you will serve as a continuous moniker of not only your country, nor your heritage, or your family, but who you are."_

 _In that moment, I felt a huge wave of feelings overflow inside of me. I was left utterly speechless at my father's speech. All I could do was search for words in my head while I stood there. As he finished, I sensed this colossal force weigh me down. My heart became disquiet with fear, more fear than it had ever felt before in my life. What was sentiment that I couldn't identify?_

 _"Father...I"_

 _As I tried to open my mouth, the ships horns had blared out across all yards of the port._

 _"ALL ABOARD! ALL ABOARD! WE WILL SET OUT IN 5 MINUTES! 5 MINUTES!"_

 _My mind was in a blank from the captain's announcement, and the response that I was thinking off had been discarded. Zechal then came to my side._

 _"Your highness. I'm afraid we must start to board the ship." He said as his voice broke me out of my trance._

 _"Huh? Oh, yes we must." I shook my head clear of all negative thoughts I was just having. I look back to my father and his usual slumpy expression, with all traces of the previous one gone, leaving only my memory of it._

 _"Well, then. Looks like you must be off now." He said._

 _"Yes...Indeed I must." My father pulled me in for a strong embrace from his arms. Though surprised, I returned it._

 _"I will miss you my than you know."_

 _"I know father."_

 _I then let go of him, and gave the same embrace in kind to my mother. I burried myself in her bosom, for it would be the last time for a while._

 _"Walk tall my daughter. I have grown to be so proud of you over these years. My heart is filled with sorrow watching you go like this, but I know in my deepest of hearts that not only this voyage will not only be beneficial for the kingdom, but for you as well."_

 _"Thank you very much mother. I will make you proud."_

 _As we disconnected, I felt my eyes swell up. They felt wet and warm, and then feeling a sensation roll down my cheek. I touched it to confirm my tears. My mother wiped my eyes with her gentle hands, and kissed my softly on my forehead, like all of the times she would wish me a good nights sleep. I then glide my eyes over, seeing the general stand in front of Zechal. Stoic and expressionless as always with him._

 _"Never let the princess out of your sight boy. Do you hear me?"_

 _"Yes father. I will utilize everything that you taught me over the years, and my protection will be swift and true to the throne."_

 _The general grunted under his breath, almost as if something were stuck in his throat, like particular words that would be said to his son._

 _"Yes...right. Indeed you will. Good."_

 _"Right."_

 _Even though they weren't saying it directly, The Oracle once told me that the hearts of men is something that cannot be explained with mere words, but through action, and sentiment alone, despite its lack of expression._

 _Both me and Zechal set foot on the wooden platform, leading up to the ships entrance, with him guiding my steps along the way of the rickety board. I step on the ship itself, with the entrance to the deck in front of me. Before I ventured in, I turn around to take one last look at my home. To see its golden buildings and structures sticking out overview to touch the sky. The palace in the far sight of my view, and my parents and the general looking up at me from the port. I wave out at them, with my eyes swelling up again, and my vision becoming more blurry by the second. Even fading, until..._

 _..._

"...rincess...princess...Princess! Wake up!"

My eyes slowly open up, trying to make sense of everything around me, only guided by someones voice, dragging me out of my slumber. I look to see Zechal's doting face as the first thing I lay eyes on. I then look out at the sky, as it moves continuously, almost as if it were on a reel of sorts. I then realize that we were moving on a vehicle of some nature, as I felt my body shake and turn.

"Finally, you're awake." Zechal said as I lean up from my resting place. I then take notice to our other passengers, our guardians on our mission. The master samurai. I take a better look out our six man carriage as it was being pulled by two horses, traveling down a neatly paved road passing by luscious trees and shrubbery. I felt my head looking around from my left and right in amazement at the scenery. My mouth open agape, expressing my excitement and amazement.

"Man, if this is enough to set you off princess, you ain't gonna make it very far out here." The more taller master samurai spoke. I believe his title was Black Dynamite. I wasn't sure if it was his real name, though Master Huey assures me that it is.

"Oh my. Is there truly so much more to see than this?"

He shook his head, chuckling under his breath, putting Zechal on guard.

"That's how I know you didn't get out of your royal palace much."

Zechal confronted him, taking offense on my behalf.

"Are you calling the princess ignorant of her surroundings?!"

"Did I say she was ignorant little pup? I only meant that she should look beyond what she sees in front of her is all."

"Is that so? Very well. But know this, I am watching your behavior. You are the least striking of what I like to see in a samurai."

"Yeah? I don't look like a samurai to you? Well in that case, you would be right pipsqueak. I don't consider myself a samurai. Know what means? Means I can do whatever I want, however I want without worrying about some fat ass pork eating noble lord telling me what to do. Not that I would expect you to understand."

"I serve a holy king. Ordained by the Gods that govern our way of life, and protect his heir. A calling that only a number of people can answer to, and an opportunity that offers station and reputation. You are nothing more a glorified thug that relies on vice and sin for his source of income."

"Believe me young blood. Vice and sin can mean a lot to you in the long run. You'll definitely know the intentions of everyone around you and what everything can do to you the more stay rooted at the bottom of it all. I can see it in your eyes. You ain't nowhere near the bottom. You haven't slipped in the damn barrel yet."

Zechal snorted his nose, giving no response to the master samurai.

"Ain't got nothing to say to that huh? You soft. I can tell."

"Please Dynamite- _dono,_ we should at least try and bond with the company that we keep." The young boy called Ceasar tried to keep peace between the two. Both of them still had some ill intent within their eyes, but judging by the lack of movement by the other two of our escorts, they somehow knew it wouldn't resort to violence. Although, it hardly relaxed my fears.

"Ceasar, don't try to play that nice guy shit with me man. I can tell you don't agree with these turkeys either."

"Personal feelings aside. I'm rather focused that we shouldn't give the impression that we can easily antagonize our charges, especially when we are still a considerable distance away from our destination. You wouldn't want a bad reputation to be split on the companies name because of your reluctance to see the perspective of another's beliefs?"

Black Dynamite grunted, and turned his face to the side, as if to hide his embarrassment. I could hear some sort of incoherent mumbling under his breath as he did so.

"I thought so. If possible, do try to remember such a moniker in the future Dynamite- _dono_ , I too have a responsibility to maintain the companies image as well as the Wuncler clan's, as much as all of you do."

"You've made that pretty clear Ceasar."

"I'm so glad that I have Huey- _dono_. And I trust that Dynamite- _dono_ will as well." He then cleared his throat, and gave a formal bow to me and Zechal."My apologies Princess Jazmin, the charges that handle your escort are nowhere near the barbarians that most people make them out to be. It's simply put that being in such a line of work like theirs can make a person...how do you say...cautious of any new encounter that may come his way. I sincerely hope you or your companion weren't offended in anyway."

I put my hand out in reassurance.

"Please. No apologies are necessary. While our cultures stand on very different platforms in terms of how we see things, there is no improbable means to which that we cannot stand on common ground with each other as people."

"I am in full agreement milady. Very well put. I must say, you certainly have a talent for diplomacy. Is it a well learned skill in your country?"

"Our society has a perfect balance between political and military affairs. Children are educated in both fields in order to make for more fully functional citizens that are well versed in matters revolving the mind and the sword."

"Fascinating place, your country Esmania. I have always found interest when discovering the lifestyles of other places and countries, as it to be a a excellent way of expanding ones horizons, even for others .Wouldn't you agree Huey- _dono_?" Ceasar turned to the youngest samurai, who was looking out at the scenery. His face was quite intimidating to keep contact with. He turned around as Ceasar beckoned for his attention.

His raised eyebrow gave an impression of disinterest in our topic. He sighed before talking."Why are you asking me about such things?"

"I thought it would just be nice to have your input on such a topic of coming from and visiting foreign lands, as you come from one yourself."

I was taken aback in surprise.

"Master Huey. You are not originally from this land? You come from somewhere else?"

"Something like that."

"Well, where are you from, if I may ask? You are very well versed in the culture of these surroundings, I would have never inferred that you weren't from here."

"You seriously don't know where I come from? Just by looking at me?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand. How could I tell by looking at your appearance alone?"

"Not looking at **me**. You know where I come from. What kind of place it was. You felt it earlier didn't you?"

I started to feel a sharp sense run up and down my spine. Was he trying to familiarize with my abilities? It's true, I felt something...different about his energy, but I simply thought it was the atmosphere of the environment cycling around him. But know, I could tell it was something more. The Oracle always warned me about reading too far into a person's aura, especially if they know you are capable of such things, as they could feel threatened as a human being. To have their own essence perverted through such unnatural means. It takes a special person to see such means even more so.

"What's that all about anyway? You can see inside a person or something?" He was becoming more intriguing by second.

"I'm afraid I cannot discuss such things with...outsiders from my country."

"We're both outsiders, just as you pointed out right? So technically we have some common ground as people don't we? So what's the harm and explaining some part about yourself, as you ask the same of me." His expression was unwavering as it locked into a stare with my own eyes. An unmovable force prevented me from looking away. Huey Freeman...just who was he."So tell me...what can you see about me?"

"Hey! Mercenary! Keep such inquisitions to your own ilk. Interrogating the princess is one of the many I won't condone in my presence!" Zechal intervened as I was about to speak. I decided to hold my tongue, lest I give incentive to his intervention.

"It wasn't an inquisition. She asked me a question, and I just simply offered one in return for my answer. Don't you think you're overreacting just a bit?"

"Overreacting is a good sign in the force where I come from. It shows that no such atrocities nor signs of malice will occur, even under the guise of so called piece between two different parties."

"Yeah? Where where I come from, we have another word for that."

"Really? And what is that?"

"It's called being paranoid. Even when the situation doesn't call for it."

"Hmmph. Awfully cheeky for a young one aren't you?"

"Cheekiness is a good sign where **I** come from. It shows you won't take shit lying down, and you aren't afraid to question those with good intentions."

In that moment, I felt Huey's heart close even more. No, it had already been shut a considerable amount, not by my doing or presence. It was a thing that had already been well established before our meeting.

The carriage had made its way through a lush forest just outside of a clearing where we had made several alternating turns. Occasionally we would stop for breaks of water, and just stretch for a few minutes before resuming our journey. We had made a turn around a huge bend coming into what looked like a very wide road with a huge space on the leftmost side of it. Beyond the space was a large farming field of sorts, filled with a variety of fruits and other vegetables, all layed out in neat and organized rows and beds of other crops and plants. I knew better than to not expect such exemplary show of agriculture from an island nation. I felt inclined to offer we stop and take a minute to admire the fields, but the suggestion was quickly turned down by the leader Afro-sensei as Huey calls him.

We made our way across the field to a crossroads, when we started to hear disturbing noises coming from a fair distance.

"What the hell was that?!" Dynamite had yelled out and rushed out of the carriage, with the other three following suit. Zechal eventually followed in their trail. He then stopped me as I tried to make my way out as well.

"Stay here."

"But I must see what's happening!"

"Trust me, if its got brutes like them riled up, it can't be anything good."

"Zechal...I."

"Please Princess. This is a request from your bodyguard. Do as I say while I investigate the distubance." With that, Zechal left me in the safety of the carriage. It didn't take me long to grow anxious over what was happening just a few feet away from me. The driver started to grow impatient, as we almost two minutes behind schedule.

"Hey! Are your friends going to be coming back anytime soon?! I still got a good five miles to cover with you people till we get to the next village, and is promising me double on this job!"

"I'm afraid I don't know."

"Well listen. I got a route to keep, and I have to adhere to it no matter what kind of crap is happening. So if you wanna see what's the holdup, we can make this go by a lot faster girlie!"

I felt mildly swayed by the drivers words, and accumulated them with my own feelings on the matter. I almost had reasonable assurance that there was to be some danger at hand with their investigation. Feeling that I understood what was to be expected, I steeled my heart and exited the carriage.

"I will go investigate their disapperance myself then! Please watch our transportation. I will try to return shortly!"

"Do whatever you gotta do Princess! As long as I'm getting paid by **someone** I'll wait until the island sinks into the ocean!"

Though he was cocksure in his attempts to try and rationalize me giving him more money, I paid it no mind and made my way down the hill where the others were.

 **Meanwhile**

 **Third Person POV**

The gang had closed up to a nearby shrubbery and hid behind the bush to try and make out what was happening across the distance. They saw several figures moving in sudden and violent patterns, even brandishing arms.

"Well, now. If it ain't a old fashioned massacre on poor innocent farmers. How hay pecked can you get from doing all of this shit?" Black Dynamite scoffed at the event taking place. The bandits had ran across the fields, slashing up the majority of the crops and threatening the farmers, who were at their complete mercy.

"What should we do?" Ceasar asked.

" **Do**? Why should we have to **do** anything?" Black Dynamite gave a blunt response. "This kind of stuff ain't even our job. We're already in the middle of one. That we're getting paid for might I add."

"We should still at least offer our help." He added.

"Is it not in your code as samurai to offer aid to the innocent in times of crisis."

"Hate to break it you ain't samurai. We're a couple of blacks with swords that have to put bread on the table. That kind of grind don't get interrupted by nothing. Even by some broke farmers getting robbed by even more broke bandits."

"Even if you aren't by name, you must still abide by code don't you?"

"A code ain't nothing to it if you don't live by it, and that sure as hell something we have been doing lately. So if you want to change that, be my guest young blood."

Ceasar looked panicked as he searched for an answer. Turning to Huey, he pressed him for help.

"Huey- _dono_ please! You must help them!"

Huey shook his head.

"We have a mission. We shouldn't jeopardize it for anything. We're not even halfway to our destination. We can't afford to get sidetrack now."

"You call innocents getting slaughtered sidetracked?" A voice came from behind them.

They turned around to spot Zechal coming from down the hill through the bushes."And here I thought you couldn't fall any further as wielders of the sword when you rely on passion and sin to keep you sated, now I see you barely lifting a finger to help simple people being brought down?! You disgust me!"

"I don't see you rushing into help them turkey." Black Dynamite snapped back at him.

"Only a fool would simply rush in without knowing the circumstances of the combat. A sure way to a fast death."

"You would be an expert in that regard wouldn't you?"

Zechal made space between and Huey to observe the situation, scouting for any detail in enemy formations, fighting styles, distance from one another, and the best way to finish them off quickly.

"I spot...five...no six of them. They are wielding the same swords as you are, but their grip is rather strange."

"Strange how?" Huey asked.

"They seem to be holding it in a backwards fashion, with the blade pointing towards their body instead of their targets. I have never seen such a style."

The rest of them viewed the bandits to follow up on Zechal's words, and were surprised by what they were seeing. The bandits had handled the sword in a reverse styled grip, and had been using it on the farmers as they cut them down. Though they pondered on the observation, they couldn't offer any input towards it, save for Afro, who seemed to be the least surprised by the bandit's method of fighting.

"Sensei? Do you know something about the way they fight?" Huey noticed his master's still notion toward the style.

"Only very little. It's very unorthodox. I've only seen a few people use it. It never did them any good in a fight, but from the looks of it...these ones may be different. The way they swing. It's almost they are waiting for a target to wander into their combat zone for them to take effect. "

"Waiting..." Ceasar pondered."How bizarre. I've never heard of such a fighting style in all my time observing the samurai. Extraordinary."

"Hmmph. It don't make a difference to Black Dynamite, what style they're rocking, they can't handle my style that will Chop Suey up their ass!"

"Oh! So does that mean you're going to help them?!" Ceasar exclaimed.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. We're just observing." Huey said.

"It's just like little Huey says. We should be making our way back to the carriage anyhow."

As they all stood up to leave, Zechal stood and stomped his foot to the ground in anger.

"Cowards! Even after all I said...you still wouldn't help them?!"

"When did we say we were going help 'em boy?" brushed him off.

"Even your adviser suggests we should help them! This is an act of proper swordsmen, surely you could see this!"

"Look kid. We all have jobs here to do. Ours is to make sure little miss prim and proper makes it to Edo safe and sound. Ceasar's is to advise on our best possible situation, even if we don't agree with it. And your job is to make sure that little miss prim and proper in question doesn't get filled with holes more than us. Doing this means forsaking all of that. Is that really what you want on your record? To put aside your responsibility of protecting your princess just to gut some bandits and be a local hero? Please!"

"Worrying about the well being of the princess is a matter that I will not have you take lightly! And you don't have to worry about her. She is left safe in the carriage, where no harm will come to her. All from my direction! She is perfectly immune from damage!" Zechal said with his nose high in the air, as he waited for his response, only getting silence from the others.

"Is...that why she's right there behind you?" Huey asked.

"Hmm?" Zechal peeked behind by his shoulders to spot the princess standing patiently behind him. He flinched with great fear, from her sudden appearance."PRI-PRI-PRINCESS! Wh-what are you doing here?!" Zechal's had a face that looked like his heart was going to hop out from his chest though his mouth.

"Zechal...please quiet down before you give away our position." She placed her fingers on her lips towards her bodyguard, who in the middle of his flailing around had quieted down almost like a loyal dog. Huey and the gang were all taken aback even more than Zechal.

"When the hell did she get here? I didn't even hear her coming down the hill past the bushes." said surprised.

"Yeah, no kidding." Huey agreed."I don't know how she did it, but she's no regular princess. I now know that more than ever."

Jazmin then approached the gang with focused eyes, concerned on the situation at hand.

"I am fully aware of the situation, and the details behind our assailants on the farmers. But I still see you and your company have done nothing to rectify it."

"Well, if you were listening to all that. Then you should know that it ain't in our policy to get sidetracked for bullshit like this. And don't try and pull that samurai code crap with us. We aren't hed down by that malarkey, so ain't no use try to convince us on that front Princess."

"I will not try and incite you on such grounds, rest assured. But I am apalled that you feel that you are so skilled that you don't even feel the slightest inkling to help innocents when they are clearly being terrorized. Does that not bother you in the slightest as humans, let alone warriors?" Jazmin had asked the question to all of them. She knew very well the answer that she would receive, but she did in a last minute attempt to prove her own expectations wrong.

"Hate to break it you, but that's not our **job**."

"Not your job you say? So your job is simply to escort me to the capital, assissting me in my mission, and hoping not to encounter any foreign events along the path? Surely you can see there is a measure of possibility that you will come into contact with conflict, even if you do not wish for it."

"Oh yeah? Whose to say that if we get involved, more conflict won't be stirred? What will we do then?" Huey asked Jazmin."Have you ever put yourself in the shoes of a combat zone? Feeling the weight of a sword as you aim it towards your enemy, clashing with him, attempting to take his life is neccessary for any reason that you see fit? And even if you do strike him down, you only have the next fight to look forward to."

Jazmin nodded in complecency towards the statement.

"I have certainly never taken a life before Master Samurai, but I have never allowed myself to let a person nor a group fall to the whims of evil. A prospect that I've spent nearly my whole life trying to uphold, even now on this mission of peace. So, the scene that is unfolding before me, I cannot in good conscience allow to occur more."

"Feel whatever you want to think little girl. But last time I checked, you ain't in the position to make demands of us, only to that lapdog of yours over there who can't even make sure you follow his orders correctly." Black Dynamite chided her."With all of that against you, what you do intend do then?"

Jazmin stayed silent for a minute, staring at the grass under her feet. Suddenly, she then grabbed Zechal's sword from his holster in a process so fast he couldn't even react in time and rushed over the bush that overlooked the farming fields.

"My intentions after all fails...Take matters into my own hands!" She yelled out as she ran out into the fields, leaving the others motionless.

"Did...she just...?" Ceasar said with his mouth hanging open.

"I believe she did..." Afro also commented.

"Princess!" Zechal trailed quickly after her without a second thought.

"Shit...now what?!" threw his arms in the air in frustration.

Huey then stood up and gripped his blade.

"Sensei. I want to go as well." He said.

"Why?"

"If either her or her bodyguard perishes, it'll make the mission redundant before it even starts. Plus it will be a good chance to put my training to good use especially against opponents that fight with unfamiliar methods, and to see if I am indeed worthy of being your apprentice. So, please, allow me to go with them."

Afro then looked at young Huey's eyes, then his body language. All of which had nothing to drive him as someone that could be depended on for such a large operation on his own, but this would indeed be a good test for the young apprentice. Not just to see if his path of the sword was one that was deftly lit before him, but to prove to himself that he was worthy of carrying such weight on his own.

"Go on then."

Receiving his position, Huey gave a quick bow before running out after the princess and her bodyguard, with his sword heavy in his hands.

"You sure 'bout this Afro?" asked him."What is this going to prove to you? The kid can hold his own in a sparring match against me or you, but he ain't ever been in anything serious. He's gonna get himself killed. You'll be okay with that?"

Afro silently nodded and crossed his arms. Ceasar cleared his throat, patting on his shoulder.

"I'm certain Afro- _dono_ trusts his student. It's a bond that is sacred that is told with more than words. Plus he has trained him very effectively over these past few years, and he has proven very reliable on countless assignments before this one."

"This ain't no catch and grab job Cesar."

Princess Jazmin rushed towards the one of the bandits at top speed, holding the sword closely by her hip, and her hand holding the grip tightly. Zechal followed closely behind her, attempting to stop her from attacking.

"Princess! Wait!" The bandit was tall and unkempt in every regard of his appearance. She came up to his blind spot and drew the sword out of the holster, hoping to catch him off guard. At the last second, her blade came into contact with his, with sparks flying from their contact, all without him not looking in her general direction, yet offered defense perfectly.

"Impossible!" Jazmin yelled out as she came for another assault from her sword from the rightmost side of the bandits body, and met another defense as well as his unmoving head toward where his sword was pointing, held uniquely in a reverse grip. She attempted a couple more times with quick and agile strikes, but were all deftly blocked. In the middle of her attack, he used the momentum of her swing and followed up with a counter attack by knocking the sword out of her hands into the air. Seeing the bandit about to strike the now defensless Jazmin, Zechal jumped up to grab his sword in midair, coming down into contact with the bandit.

"Princess! Get back!" Zechal yelled out, while struggling in a deadlock with the bandit. Whom he noticed upon closer inspection of his tattered appearance, were the absence of one of the most vital tools of a warrior, let alone a person. His eyes. As they were completely torn out, leaving only the sockets and scar still visible across the face."He's...blind?!"

"Eyes...aren't neccessary to see to just what lies in front of you in battle!" The bandit came back with a string of counter attacks, following up with Zechal's movements. Though he tried to outpace him, Zechal fell short by just a few seconds every strike, almost as if his movements were being perfectly read no matter from what area he struck from. Feeling like he would do better better defending rather than attacking, he took a break from his onslaught and entered a defensive stance, which the bandit took immediate notice of once he noticed in the lack of aggression from him.

"Ahh...feeling for an opportunity to take advantage of my attacks eh? You won't get any of that from me you know..." The bandit attempted to lure him in with taunts. Zechal stayed focused as he circled around him, waiting for an opening.

"I know you cannot see...so you must be detecting my movements in some manner or form."

"Silly boy. Is so dependent on his two eyes that he can't see past his third!" The bandit drew his feet closer to Zechal, causing him to draw back. Their two two blades got close to each other, almost to touch. As soon as they touched, both of them sprang into action, trading blows with each other once again. Zechal was still being pressed, but not before trying find someway around his opponents seemingly defensive posture.

As he stood fighting one of the bandits, Jazmin could hear more screams in the general direction towards the east, with the rest of the bandits closing in on the last remaining farmers, with others filled up the rows with their corpses.

"Zechal, I'm going to help the rest of the farmers!" She said as she ran off .

"What?! No, Princess! Stay where I can see you!" The bandit started to press more into Zechal as he was briefly distracted, only putting his guard up at a last seconds notice.

"You best pay attention now!"

Zechal broke of the bandits hold on him,and forward with a string of attack that all ended up getting blocked or at worst parried into another counter. As he backed off of his enemy, he began to notice a strange occurence in his oppenents movement, more specifically his footwork, almost as if he were gliding around him. He also picked up on the slow weavings of his blade as it moved back in forth, as well as a constant twitching in his right ear.

 _"Could that be it?"_ Zechal thought to himself. He then moved in with a newly found plan of attack and the battle between the two continued on.

Across the field, the bandits slowly crept up to the last farmers, and old man and woman. Jazmin approached the entire scene.

"Stop! Leave them alone!" She demanded them.

"Hahaa! Do I hear a little girl now? A little girl that she thinks she can stop us?" One of the bandits spoke in a sarcastic tone. Just like the other one she encountered not that long ago, all of these bandits had their eyes gouged out, but somehow had full awareness of their surroundings."I take it your part of the calvary eh? Though I don't hear no sword on ya. You gonna try and give me and good finger wagging are you?" He then drew closer to Jazmin, chortling along the way. Suddenly held his blade to her neck, showing her own reflection within the steel."Should I take that finger of yours girlie? A daft brat like yourself doesn't look like she needs it if she thinks she can just walk up to us no problem. Maybe we should educate you on how this whole thing works."

"Hahaha! Yeah! Do that shit!"

"Trying to lecture on us what we should do huh? Maybe we should give you one in return for fucking with us!"

All of the bandits started to burst out with laughter. Despite the blade almost cutting through her skin, Jazmin's face was devoid of any fear. Instead, her eyes raced around her surroundings, observing the bandits.

"I see now...now I understand your method of fighting."

"Say what?!"

In that moment, Jazmin hastily ducked under the sword, and took the bandit down from under his legs with her hands, turning him over on his back and taking his sword, all in one swift motion. Holding it towards the other bandits who had gone on their guard from the sudden turn of events after hearing the thud of their partner.

"I was caught off guard by one of your other allies earlier, but that was mainly because I was stuck trying to figure out how he was able to intercept my attacks despite his eyes not focused on the direction on his blade, but one factor was able to clue me in on it. Everytime he attacked, he always led with his pivot inside of his striking zone, continuously moving it in every direction, almost like a scanner of sorts that senses movement from the ground up, especially from his opponents, and then uses the ears to detect and wait for his opponent to make a move so he could intercept. All of which is done, while lacking proper eyesight. Which is also why you hold the blade in a reverse grip as well, to make it easier for defensive posture and to switch to assault proportions."

All of the bandits stood there shocked as one little girl figured out the entire basis of their fighting technique.

"Though I must say, it has been some time since I have handled a sword, so I admit I am a little rusty in the martial arts. Perhahps you fiends can serve as good practice for me?"

"You little bitch!" One of the bandits charged for her, twirling his sword around in a circular motion. As she got ready to guard for the incoming attack, young Huey hopped over her,his figure blocked out by the sun giving him the guise of a shadow moving across the field. With a forward slice, he then brought the blade across the skin of the bandits throat. Within a few milliseconds, blood forcefully sprayed out of him as his now dead body drooped down in the grass as Huey made a nearly perfect landing with his sword steadily still at his hip in a drawing stance. All of the other bandits, exclaimed in shock at the unbelievable speed and agility that was displayed from one so young. He slowly stood up with a presence completely different from his usual indifferent demeanor. Princess Jazmin watched in awe at his transformation. She knew in her heart, this was Huey Freeman, the Apprentice of the Number Two.

 _ **CHAPTER 6 END**_

 **Fro Ninja; Thank you for reading, and remember, One Love!**


	7. Chapter 7

_Young Huey held onto the sword with a hesitant grip. His hands shaking uncontollably at the hilt, not only from the fear of holding such a weapon, but the surprising weight that it carried from the blade. Though unique in its design, it was anything but light upon carrying it. He struggled to keep the sword at least above shoulders length, but his arms constantly dropping down from his shoulders, and the blade hitting the dirt. Heavy breaths inhaled and exhaled from his mouth as he locked eyes on his target, with his eyes diluting from trying to make sense of his actions._

 _Soon, his visions began to fade in and out in contrast, giving more than a hard time trying to detect what his target was doing. He took another deep and focused breath, attempting to lift the katana up once more. His coiled expression showed his struggle with its weight, even more so to what he was supposed to do with it. Kill the target that lied in front of him._

 _"Do you know what it is you're holding?" Afro calmly said to the eight year old, who had leaned up on nearby tree overlooking the entire process of his training. Though it couldn't be called training, not yet anyway. This was a test in general terms, but to the path Huey means to take, it holds so much more meaning."It looks like a normal blade. A means to defend, and kill if neccessary. But as a warrior, a samurai, it is an extension of you yourself. Your will, manifested as a blade to do with what you will."_

 _Huey listened to the words spoken, but his focus was diverted to simply trying to keep the blade held up to a suitable position, so he could not offer a response. Afro knew this of course, and found this suitable. He did not need him to talk or ask questions, simply to listen._

 _"Of course, the length or strength of your sword is all moot to the power of your WILL, your sould itself. The stength of such an essence decides the power of your blade, not the blade itself. No matter how hard the blade is, a wielder of weak will and hesitation will find it breaking in almost no time flat. That brings me to your first duty as a warrior. Fear." Afro walked over directly into Huey's line of sight and grabbed his target lifting it high in the air. Though it was tiny, it was full of life, and had a will of its own that it could present to others, to show the world proof of its existence._

 _"Fear is the reaction of any human being. It allows us to react to certain situations, giving us the untapped ability to fight until our last dying breath, or to run, all in the means of survival at any cost. Fear can exist in any living thing, and can often be the very thing that makes or breaks us as an invidual. When fear breaks us, we become hesitant in our actions, frail even. Unable to make rational decisions based on rational thought. Hesitation can be useful on the path of self destruction of ones pride, and what makes them alive in the first place. So what must we do to rid ourselves of hesitation?" This time, the question was poised towards young Huey, who was still struggling with the blades weight. Afro waited silently for the answer as Huey attempted to divulge his focus into moving his mouth._

 _"C...Cast hesitation...out...of your mind?!" He said with obvious fatigue at the activity that he had been attempting for more than two hours already. Afro shook his head, disappointed in his answer._

 _"That was a rhetorical question. Hesitation serves as our means on what we should improve on as people. How we are still alive and we strive to live through any means necessary. Even means such as killing. But it is the holding of hesitation and the lack thereof that seperates man and animals. The animal feels no hesitation in his killing, because it is simply doing whatever it takes to survive in its environment even through preying on those weaker than it. A man feels hesitation because he knows that killing is not the only way to guarantee his survival in such situations. When he realizes this, he can run away, or simply carve open a new path. The question you must ask yourself, with all of this in mind, will that hesitation that you carry in your heart be your undoing, or your salvation when taking another's life? Will that be your only way of settling a conflict?"_

 _"I...don't understand...Should I not hesitate when I...kill?"_

 _"Hesitation has no place in the act of killing, but hesitation of dealing with the aftermath of the kill itself. That is always the hardest part to internalize." Afro then drew a small knife from his sash, and helf it close to the targets nape, the blade softly resting on its skin."With practice, anyone can kill, but it is the feelings of regret, the feelings of despair that linger with us afterwards, no such preparation exists." With one subtle movement of his hand, he brought the blade across the targets nape, drawing blood almost instantly. Huey watched in an fearful awe as the red liquid leaked down the dirt, soon forming a puddle near his master's feet. He didn't flinch, or turn away from it, focusing on it with concentration, memorizing the aspects that come with slaying the target of his choosing or of his self defense._

 _Afro tossed the lifeless carcass aside on the ground, with its intestines forcefully splashing out of its body from the impact. He walked over to him with the blood drenched knife still available in his hand and pointed it at young Huey. Although he had no intention of harm, his apprentice still remained on guard, finally managing to hold it up above his hips after only a few hours of just trying to lift it off the ground. Noticing his work in progress, Afro shook his head in wonder how we would ever progress even further in his training._

 _'Why did he take him on as his apprentice?' One had to wonder, including Huey as the question revolved heavily in his mind. A person in his position would be more worried about just trying to manage his standing in a foreign country after escaping a pre-destined life of being enslaved. Did he see some kind of untapped potential within him as a warrior? Is that why he took him on, and gave him is role?_

 _The thoughts snapped Huey back to reality as much as the quick strike done to his stomach from his masters kick, sending him tumbling back several feet on his back, rolling clumsily on the ground. Giving himself a moment to breathe through the lingering feeling of the kick, Huey picked himself up from the dirt, holding his stomach together with the context that his guts were going to come spilling out from the hit, which would have been a lot more harder than taking a sword to it. At least it would have ended more quickly. Taking his sudden attack as a means to instigate a sparring match, or the simulation of trying to kill him, Huey summoned what little remained of his depleting strength and lifted up his sword with barely any effort, bringing himself to hold a middle balanced stance. Unexpectedly, Afro gave him a silent nod in approval._

 _"Just like that." Though confused at the sudden statement, Huey refused to take his eye off of him, or let his sword slip even just a little below his waist. "Remember that feeling next time you lift your sword. The feeling of having someones foot or fist put to your gut, and putting you down on your feet! Take that strength and let it push you through the fight!" Almost as if he were expecting to do so himself, Afro came charging at Huey with his knife, leading him to block almost instantly. Though sloppy, it still provided defense from the strike. Afro continued with a series of a few more strikes, aiming for several of Huey's vital spots, ranging from his legs, arms, and even head. Huey did his best to defend against them all, albeit poorly with the weight of the sword and his small stature working against each other._

 _"You must be prepared to kill! At anytime!" Afro exclaimed as every strike clashed against his apprentice's blade. They circled around each other with nearly in sync footwork, although Huey habitually checking his footwork, causing him to lose focus and for Afro to gain an even higher ground with his assault." Though preparation, is not a guarantee...for anything. It...is an insurance! You must be willing to take responsibility for your kill! Make the mark of your kill be one for self defense, to protect others if necessary. To be ready to kill others for the others, or yourself!"_

 _The sound of the blades clashing to together echoed throughout the forest, even pushing to make the both of them go deaf. Afro kept his assault consistent, keeping up with quick strikes and jabs being his current weapon was a small dagger. A fact that Huey realized, and shuddered to give anymore thought. Though he was primarily focused on his defensive stature, he refused to let his guard slip, which was growing to be rather impressive considering the wide experience gap that the two held from each other. Afro started to become more fierce with his strikes, increasing the speed of his attacks, and causing Huey to do so in response._

 _"You must be ready to kill at a moments notice! Feel no regret! No hesitation! Bear the weight of responsibility, of the emotion that you take on, as your blade leaves your opponents neck!"_

Huey clashed against the steel that came his way with his own, blowing past any that came his way. An unstoppable force started to become second nature to him following his days of training under the Number Two.

"You...you killed my brother!" The blind warrior bluntly barked at the young samurai as his blade came into a deadlock with his. Though unable to spot details hidden in his calm yet brisk face, he could clearly sense the killing intent tucked away from other methods. The way he held his blade just to name one.

Coming out of the deadlock, the warrior pivoted to his left, hoping to flank the young apprentice. From his instincts, and peripherals, he easily saw through the maneuver, moving to counter with a movement of his own that put the blind warrior in a pincer movement, slowly backing away from his current position to regroup in his standing. Huey saw this attempt, and cut him off, vaulting towards his torso to kick his opponent's sword out of his hand, impaling him through the chest, carving into flesh,piercing bone, and making its way to the other side. All the others could do is watch in shock as their comrade was routed in such haste that they couldn't react quick enough, a instant that Huey took full advantage of, making quick work of the other two standing in both of his directions from the left and right, cutting them both from the top to mid areas of the body with absolute precision. He fought with the undeniable poise and accuracy one would expect to from the apprentice of the Number Two. Using his knowledge of basic sword practices along with his natural speed and agility made him out to be a small yet mobile target to pin down, and his skill made him even more deadlier as he wasted no time taking down few whereas Zechal and Jazmin struggled with one.

"I-Impossible..." One of the last few remaining stood back, with sweat rolling steadily down his cheek as he heard two more sounds of impact in the dirt. He felt a sudden fear overcome him, his hands shaking and quivering as if he had just aged several more years from his current age, relaying the thought of fleeing in the most quickest of fashion. Most likely not wanting to make even more quick work, or at least give them a fighting chance, Huey took his time with his approach with the remaining blind warriors that stood only a few feet from him, eerily getting closer and closer with each footstep that their ears could pick up. It might have been a blessing in disguise that they had no means of seeing him now, covered in the brother's blood from top to bottom, and the steel of his sword sullied in the same red matter, running its course down the blade and falling almost perfectly by his feet. He took a breath each time his blade took to rest at his side as if trying to come for air from water.

 _No hesitation..._ He told himself continuously after each kill, echoing the words of his master at all intervals, playing the scenes of his training back with every motion to further enhance his future movements of style.

Princess Jazmin stood in awe at the whole spectacle. She felt no disbelief prior to seeing young Huey in combat that he had considerable prowess, but then again she felt no fear either, as this is not her first witness of battle herself. As the princess of a militarized country, she had been trained in many forms self defense at a young age that she still incorporates, and has even sparred against the great General Zahn, who is famous for his unmatched fighting ability, easily being able to best the most talented swordsmen of the northern hemisphere, but that is where the gravity of such credibility ends, though she knew those times were for her own benefit, and nothing to dote on in glorious means. She has yet to see real combat. The clashing of sword against sinew, and the exchange of blood that could only be described by Zahn himself as _sipping poisonous tea with your enemy_. She always thought such statements justifying the glorification of violence was primitive at best, but what she was witnessing currently was something different entirely. This was someone who had yet to come to terms with the thrill of battle judging by his look of indifference as he took down his opponents, but someone who was still trying to find his way.

Her eyes remained enchanted on Huey's as he routed four enemies in under a minute. His face was still, serene almost. Almost as if the process of taking another's life hardly phased through him. It disturbed her to no end. Was she afraid of him? His display of strength, or his potential as a warrior? She didn't know at the time.

"We...will not stand for this...disrespect!" Despite his threatening statement, he made clear on the suggestion or rather the human instinct instilled in him to run away from the impending doom that stood just a few feet away from him, thought his partner on the other hand, foolish as it was stood his ground. The escapee noticed the lack of additional footsteps behind, whipping his head around his neck. "Leave them! We must hurry now!"

The 'brave' one took out his sword from his sheath, holding it over his head with a reverse grip from the hilt, indicating a difference of stance from his other comrades, which Huey took notice of, stopping in his tracks. Judging by his expression, he was surprised by the change of pace that his opponent was taking on at this point, letting out a small sigh of disappointment. He has never bested an opponent to the very brink of their mercy, so he didn't know what kind of emotions the event would bring, though what he was experiencing was less than ideal. The screams of a desperate man seeking vengeance, were all that

"I will not leave...I will not leave...until I HAVE YOUR HEAD! DIEEEEE!" He came charging at Huey like a wild boar, completely devoid of any rationalization of the situation. There was no defense capabilities in his current strategies, nor any way of knowing that any strikes would fall through in such a manner of attack.

 _That stance he made, is this some kind of new style?_ Huey thought to himself, deciding to put himself on guard anyway. He was no stranger to not letting a supposed victory go to your head, and to remain on guard at all times, either until your opponent has left the battlefield, taking what little remained of his life with him, or he was dead by your sword. His master taught him to usually keep awareness out for the latter. 'There is no point in having an opponent you have already bested in combat once, come back for your head once more'. The words echoed in his head whenever Huey placed his sword against someone in actual combat where life was exchanged with life.

Taking to his stance, his blade met with the blind bandits on a high area by his head. The bandit swung vigorously from every direction, with brute strength instead of the previously swift style demonstrated by him and his pears. Huey defended perfectly at every interval, almost as if he was walking through basic motions for sword blocking. The clashing of the two blades rang off the metallic sound that chimed in everyone's ear that stood around it, especially the bandit, whose ears began to twitch and move almost in sync with it. It was a tiny detail that only more experienced warriors could spot when analyzing their opponent's style, or someone watching from outside of the fight itself, in this case it was the Princess.

Seeing the bandits ears twitch in response to each of their deadlocks became an indication that his style might be more than just some rabid form of swinging a sword, and playing to something bigger. Her own experiences justify this thought, seeing as how the bandits had almost an abnormal sense of hearing and detecting sound due to their blindness, further utilizing it in their style. Though she was no warrior, she had a remarkable gift detecting the sudden changes in a persons body language during almost any situation, from their demeanor, to muscle movement, how their shoulders shift when moving. A trait which many thought who ever sparred with her to be an offshoot of her 'abilities', though she has assured them it is a habit developed from years of watching Zechal fight with others in a similar manner.

Huey and bandit started to speed up their reaction time, with the clashing of the swords and their sounds become much more rapid and vehement with the dynamic they each displayed, which of the bandits strikes become more aggressive. Thinking that his opponent was seeking to fight in this manner in a way to get him to fatigue, Huey moved to capitalize on the exchange by parrying the latest blow to come to his mid section in the form of a forward riposte to the right, allowing him to move on in with a upper horizontal slice. In that moment, the bandits ears started to twitch like mad as Huey took one step off the ground instead of the usual pattern of backing up in his defense has he has been for the remainder of the fight. The motion itself formed a grin on his face that Huey had no awareness of. The same grin of a hunter that has caught a prey in its trap.

Jazmin's expression worsened as she saw what was about to unfold as the bandit quickly took one hand off of the hilt of his blade to reach around to his back, where a small tachi was hoisted secretly on his belt.

"Nooo!" She screamed in a high pitched voice as she jumped from her spot in an attempt to defend Huey, stepping in between the two as both of them stood on the verge with colliding with each other once more.

"DIEEEEEE!" He screamed as he took out his surprise tachi, moving to bring it toward Huey now opened blind spot provided by the earlier parry, which by Huey's sudden reaction, he suddenly realized was a plot this whole time in an attempts to let his guard down. The wild and irrational swinging, despite his style being a compromise of his own handicap had clicked in Huey's mind. His movement then dulled, inhaling greatly to push his body back before being exposed to the tachi that had been revealed by his hand.

 _No!_ Her thought screamed out loud as she saw the whole thing begin to unveil itself from the start, though silenced herself as to not make it obvious. She struggled to budge her body, wanting to take action to defend.

 _I can't move..._ a thought ringed in her heart on isolated sound, as if time had frozen around her, with nothing being heart but the rigg in her chest, and the only scene was that in front of her with Huey unaware of what was going to happen next. Why would she not feel such a reaction such as this? She was no warrior, and she knew that in absolute certainty. Was that an excuse to avoid preventing the inevitable when it's right in front of you? she asked herself.

 _I...won't allow it!_

She pulled her legs from the ground, as if it grew hands to hold her back from moving. Before she knew it, Jazmin stood between the two, shielding Huey with extended arms, much to his surprise. Her mind overcame with high fevered emotions caused by the possible loss of one her guardians, her actions became unknown to her from this point. swiftly grabbing Huey's sword mid swing and bringing the blade forth to the bandit's stomach, halting his previous action. She felt a stilled force, an obstruction of some kind as the blade made contact with his internals. Driven by raw emotion and instinct, she told her body to drive through the obstruction, seeing it as no more than something that should be crushed.

 _Push it through...more..._ Her actions soon became silent thoughts, proceeding with her most logical course of seconds, the blade pierced cleanly through the bandits body, coming out on the other side coated in blood trickling to the ground. His groans became apparent as his mind struggled to make sense of the turn of events, and how much they had escalated from his original plan. Looking down, he saw nothing more than a blood covered child holding a blade that has been driven through him, silently laughing in disbelief that such an individual robbed him of his life.

The bandits body keeled over on his back as Jazmin let go of her grip on the sword, falling into the now blood soaked mud. Huey stood there in surprise at what just happened, thinking that it was a fever dream from the adrenaline that usually comes with such a fight. But it was reality as his mind kept telling him over and over. His eyes witnessed the hard breathing princess, who stood there motionless and with face devoid of awareness and life of everything around her covered in blood. It was a face that he never would get to see from someone as so pure when compared to someone like him.

As he moved to receive his sword from the corpse, her face suddenly came alive again, with a confused and daydream like expression, almost as if she was asleep the whole time. She looked around dazed at what was going on around her.

"What...what happened?" She softly asked thinking that someone would respond. She then noticed Huey unharmed which had brought a smile to her face."Ah! Master Huey! I'm glad to see you're well! I knew that you would make work of those bandits." She said with her usual eloquence and grace, that Huey almost swore what had happened had to be an illusion, or at worst, something other than what he could figure out.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" He said with his usual scowl, while the princess responded with the confused tilt.

"What are you talking about?" He refused to believe that she was ignorant of what she did, and decided to nip it in the bud by nodding forward toward the corpse of the bandit. She turned around, slightly shocked by the sword stuck in his stomach."Is...that the bandit that tried to kill you? You fought back and routed him in return yes?" She loudly cleared her throat pretentiously."I don't approve of your methods...but as long as the farmers are safe, that's all that matters. I am so glad that you decided to help me in the end."

Her smile shined through her words, though they had no effect on the young one, falling short.

"I didn't kill him..."He said nonchalantly to her.

"You didn't? Then who was it? Was it Master Afro, Master B.D., or Zechal? Which...come to think of it, I don't see them anywhere. Zechal was still fighting the other bandit, but then again, this is the sword the samurai use, so it couldn't have been him. Someone had to-" Huey grabbed her arms holding them up to her in her face to see her hands. She paused all thought as her eyes registered her blood soaked hands, filled out in its creases and even getting under her finger nails. The liquid still fresh and warm as it started to trickle down her arms. Her breath halted, and the world around her stopped.

"You did. You killed him."

She shook her head in denial, or in attempt of trying to feign ignorance of her action from Huey of all people.

"You don't remember you doing it? Did you black out?"

Jazmin looked down at the ground in confusion.

"I must have...I don't remember doing it, but I do feel this...sensation in inside of me for some reason."

Huey tilted his head."Sensation?" His face scrunched up, as if trying to recall something."Didn't you say you felt some kind of...sensation when we first met as well?" He said halfheartedly, as if he was expecting an automatic dodge of the question.

"It's...something similar to that, but not quite..." She said in a reserved tone of voice, remaining rather calm despite the circumstances."What I'm feeling is rather peculiar. It's like something had came over me, possessed me even as my thoughts became actions. I could feel...emotions from the people around me as I stood there. As if the world stood still, and when it begun to move once more, I found myself in this position." Her eyes drew on the blood on her hands, feeling invisible weights in each of them which had spurred her curiosity as to how it got there, and why she couldn't remember.

Huey nodded his head, which Jazmin took as simply humoring her.

"It was probably instinct that took over."He responded to her statement with a vague one.

"Huh?" She said puzzled. "I don't understand. I'm not a warrior, as you might have saw, so what makes you say that?"

" _Sensei_. My master, taught me that when you act upon your instincts instead of your thoughts, you become...lost in your actions, and you body becomes reactionary. It moves without you even noticing." The halfheartedness from his earlier statement seemingly faded, speaking with a clear cut tone that made the princess relax slightly."I don't know about this...sensation that you felt...but you would have gotten killed if you didn't know what you were doing back then." He said in an almost disciplinary voice, which was a first for young Huey, as he was usually on the receiving end of such a tone.

"O-oh! You...saw what had happened?" She flustered at his observation

"I saw him pull the tachi out from his pouch, but since he had no idea of my reaction speed or that I could have just knocked it from his hand by hitting the pressure point in his arm, I had plenty of opportunities to take him out. I would have done it, but I guess I wasn't fast enough this time..."

"Quick enough?" She mumbled under her breath, relaxing her restless shoulders as she looked at the dead body of the bandit. She looked at the blood on her hands once again, feeling several emotions at once, but breathing at the grasp of each of them, making sure they do not get to her too much. Not many non-warriors would put themselves between a conflict such as that, and even more come out of it with almost their whole sanity intact. A detail like this drew Huey's interest as to who this Princess was even more.

He walked over to the body of the bandit and sat down in a lotus style position in front of his, putting his hands together in a prayer of sorts, closing his eyes and bowing his head in deep respect. Jazmin tilted her head in curiosity though kept her tongue noticing his concentration. For about a minute, silence was exchanged until Huey suddenly rose from his seat.

"How strange..."

"What is?"

"I didn't think that samurai had prayed for the enemies that they slew. That's almost chivalrous."

"They have their beliefs, I have mine. It's my way...coping with what I go through whenever I fight. It's no big deal."

Jazmin giggled which killed the previous tension in the air.

"You almost sound like Zechal, the way you talk about beliefs and ideals. So cocksure, and determined."

"I would rather not be compared to your paranoid bodyguard of all people." Huey caught a quick glance at Jazmin's appearance, noticing its disheveled condition as of just a short while ago."Are you going to be okay?"

She gave a strong nod."Yes. Though I am not used to seeing-well...doing such things, I am a bit shaken. But I will be fine regardless. The last thing I need to be is shaken up after all of this was due to my own habits."

"Is that right?" Huey shrugged."Since you stood up to Black Dynamite, I guess I shouldn't look at you as a frail little girl anymore."

"Anymore?" Jazmin puffed out her cheeks."Is that how you saw me before?!"

Huey shrugged, dodging the question and the sentiment behind it.

Zechal found a rhythm of moving around his stead with his opponent, blocking and even parrying his blows every time the event came to be, but with barely any opportunities to strike back himself. Capitalizing on an opponent such as this would be ideal, but it was one that he had never come across before, despite his Esmanian elite knight training, which guaranteed that just one unit could be a single army.

He circled around his blind opponent, attempting to pick at his surprisingly fortified guard. The difference between the two styles was almost polarizing to Zechal. Compared to his Esmanian style of fighting with involved quick pincer attacks at an angled range to pressure opponent's into revealing their weakness, his opponent's style involved waiting and listening for a capital

 _Shit. His guard looked almost easy to break through from here! No matter what spot I am for, he's already guarding it._ He thought to himself as he gave a few vertical slashes to his opponent's middle section, with him meeting blade instead of flesh. The blind bandit chuckled at Zechal's futile attempts thus far. They've only been fighting for about five minutes, and the bandit has managed to pick off each of Zechal's attempts at attacking, such as an aggressive pincer attack from his sides, though they all fell short of attempt due to one defining factor that he held onto. A factor that Zechal was trying to decipher.

"I don't see what's funny here!" Zechal said to the bandit, cutting his moment to gloat."I still haven't given up, and you still haven't even managed to land a hit on me."

"Landing a hit huh? Didn't think about it until now. I've been having too much fun playing keep away with you already kid. Having trouble kicking the blind man's ass are you now?"

"Shut up!"

"Ahhh, I don't even have to see to know you're angry boy. I can hear it myself you know. Your heartbeat getting faster, the air traveling through your flaring nostrils, your hands sinking deeper into your swords clutches. It's a shame though, your style is rather unique with its pretty twirls and whatnot, but without substance to back it up, it's nothing but just fancy sword play."

Zechal bit his lip in irritation, seeing the truth in his opponents words, but not wanting to admit himself. He felt a an urge to lash out anger as he did many times during his training with his father whenever he stated a hard truth about his fighting style, which only used to accumulate his anger in combat even more. It used to upset him to no end, feeling constant inadequacy of the way he fought and feeling a drive to always improve on it and take himself out of his father's shadow. It wouldn't be until later on after his childhood, he would understand why he did what he did.  
 _Although it's a truth..._ his father used to tell him _...nothing is set in stone in the middle of battle._ The words echoed through his mind to this day. He would still feel anger in his combat, frustration of the shortcomings when compared to his opponents, especially when the difference was so staggering, words weren't even necessary. He knew that well in this case.

"Sword play...huh?" Zechal said silently under his breath, with his grip increasing on his sword. The blind bandit shook his head in disbelief at his numerous attempts and for a change, had leapt forward with an attack, with his ears twitching with every step forward. As he wound up for an overhead swing, the bandit felt a hard body blow from the young knight's elbow go right through his chest, knocking him back several feet. Zechal stood in a new stance with his sword now pointing inward towards his body, his feet spread apart and his free hand stuck outward towards his opponent.

"Then how about I show you, some actual sword combat instead?!" Zechal shouted out with renewed vigor. His anger faded and a brazen smile to match, he stepped forward slowly and wound up for a right roundhouse kick towards his opponent. In just brink of a second, the bandit caught wind of the kick and stepped to the opposite direction to avoid being hit. His expression darkened slightly when he noticed that Zechal's hit barely had any force to it despite his leg being lifted in the air, and even having trajectory to it. Pulling his leg back, he swung his whole body around, giving a twist kick knocking his opponent back a few feet, allowing the momentum during the hit to draw his sword from his sheathed side in a upper slash. Although it met his opponents steel, Zechal kept up with the assault, giving flourishes and flurries of melee attacks mixed with advanced swordplay.

As his attacks continued to rein in on the blind bandit, the pressure began to accumulate in his regard, not even being given enough time to fight back or at least sense the opportunity to capitalize with a counter. That was good. Zechal didn't want him to think, or at least try and act about trying to get back on the offense, which was turning out to be the one method he had of leading this match into a turnabout.

The blind bandit's ears began to twitch, as he attempted to hone in on Zechal's fight pattern, which was proving rather difficult with his current style of fighting resembled something of a rapid wolf trying anything to get at its prey. Zechal commanded the battle now, compared to the earlier happenings, but he was hardly in the lane for victory yet.

Zechal came at the bandit with another flurry of quick sword jabs from the tip of his sword, which aimed above the body to allow at least some semblance of his opponent to try and defend themselves. The jabs met with his opponent's blade, with his parries becoming a bit more sloppier what with his window for reaction getting smaller as Zechal increased the pacing of his attack, becoming faster and more aggressive with each interval. Though this was a fight to the death by normal standards, Zechal's training wouldn't at least allow him to forget about battle etiquette during battle, with trying to make any bout that you had a fair one, despite cruel intentions. Or judging by the sadistic grin that would show up on his face after every strike, he was trying to make it more fun for himself by drawing it for as long as possible for him to get fatigued, or maybe bored.

"I thought it was that..." Zechal said as they came to another deadlock after an exchange made with such haste."You can not only see through hearing, your other senses are spiked as well, huh?"Zechal smiled boldly as he not only saw through an alleged invisible strategy, but the worried expression of his opponent filled him with a slight sense of joy."Smell, taste, feeling different sensations through the air. Pretty much everything around you can be felt making you the ultimate detector in combat. But there's your weakness..." Breaking the deadlock, Zechal gave a side kick to his opponent's rib cage, along with the force missing from his previous roundhouse, knocking an ample amount of wind out of him. The bandit groaned out of displeasure, not just from the pain, but how he managed to sense the attack coming from the force that the kick gave off, but how he couldn't react to it in time.

 _Am...I getting slower_. His thoughts began to range on paranoia as the one thing giving him an advantage during this fight, was getting squandered.

Still reeling from its pain, Zechal hit his stomach with the butt of his sword handle to lead forth with a rising knee that sent the bandit flying backward and onto his back, splashing mud all around his spot. He then flipped into air using his blade as a platform to vault himself forward from the knee, holding the sword with both hands in front of his for one final blow.

Letting out a powerful roar, he brought down his sword onto the bandit, with the sword piercing just a few inches away from his head. Expecting to be dead by now given how things were proceeding, the bandit was genuienly shocked rather than surprised. Zechal closed his eyes and took a deep breath to regain his composure, and pulled his deeply buried sword from the ground and stepped off his opponent, sheathing his sword and begun turning on his feet in the opposite direction to run off.

"Wait!" The bandit arose from the ground, confused at the unexpected mercy."You aren't going to kill me?" The bandit asked with a curious expression.

"No." Zechal said bluntly."Don't get the wrong idea. I could if I wanted to. Your style gave me trouble in the beginning, but I found out that even though all of your senses are superior to mine, that still requires you to wait and listen for your opponent to make a move, predicting their patterns, method of attack, and the current rate of them, that would allow you to keep countering them every time. But I think you can only handle it at a certain frequency, seeing as how your reactions were getting slower and slower each time I got faster. He nodded towards the bandit pointing at the sword now sheathed at his side. He face palmed himself as he just remembered the one crucial detail about him that prevented from seeing that gesture."That style I used just now, that was something I copied from the man who taught me how to fight. It isn't a perfect copy, but it did the job well enough didn't it?"

The bandit was silent, as if he was busy contemplating instead of listening to the victor's lecture.

"That answer was a bit too long for you?" He said sarcastically.

"You don't know the rule of the land...do you?"

"The rule?" Zechal tilted his head in confusion."What rule is there?"

The bandit struggled to stand to his feet. Zechal didn't bother going back into a stance, utterly convinced that beating him was a good enough assumption that he wouldn't try anything else. Though the reality was that the bandit would see no point in doing so, and so put aside his killing intent.

"To death. That's how it has always been. The rule of the warriors that carve their own way in blood. To draw your sword upon on another, is to fight them until they, or yourself cease to draw breath. It has always been this way since the dawning of the samurai. To bring honor to both parties."

Zechal shrugged confidently.

"Well unfortunately, I'm not a samurai, nor am I interested in your country's rules. I abide by none other than the ones I have been disciplined with. I do not kill of my own accord, only when my charge, the Princess requests me to. I have no qualms in such matters."

"So not a samurai. But a loyal dog? How unscrupulous."

 _I'm starting to think that every guy here with a sword has this low opinion on authority._ Zechal thought, feeling his eyebrow twitch in irritation from the repeated notion that already brought up a bad image of Black Dynamite.

"But a dog learns his lessons no? Than I shall teach you one right now...as a reward for your victory." Zechal's raised his eyebrow at the sudden proposition.

 _A lesson for a victory? I wasn't expecting such a courtesy._

"Know this, child. To a samurai...honor is everything to him. It gives him the reason to fight, to be able to kill with a sense of conviction. Such a thing can only be explained more through action than what mere words can allow the mouth to speak. Your training has obviously taught you different, but it does not prepare for the world, and its' reality. We must do as we must regardless of personal feelings, attachments for the ones we serve."The bandit said with a deadpan tone. Zechal looked at him puzzingly, trying to figure out what the origins of such a statement were, while at the same time feeling something looming behind it.

"Honor huh? What does a thug like you know about honor? Sacking the belongings of the defenseless? Killing them when they do not comply to your own selfish demands?! Where's the honor in that?! I serve one that has been ordained by our God, yet you don't see me performing such deeds, do you?!" The bandit offered a chuckle to the young one, thinking very lightly of his naivety. He grinned slightly, offering him no fault in his bandit grabbed the sword that fell beside him, and held it highly in front of him.

"I see there is no point in trying to educate one that refuses to listen."

"Wait, what are you doing?!" He said leaning forward.

"Honor is something that every swordsmen must claim. For if he has none, he might as well be dead..." Zechal's eyes shot open as he pushed his feet forward, knowing the event that was about to unfold, to stop him

"Stoppp!" Zechal reached out in desperation, but arrived a second too late, as the blade pierced his flesh through his throat, ending his own life. The young knight stood there in shock at what he just witnessed, even more so as the sword remained lodged in the bandits neck, positioned in a lotus style with fresh blood oozing from down the blade onto his robes, creating a stains that could never be washed out. Zechal gritted his teeth in frustration while stepping back slowly from the corpse that was once his opponent.

"He speaks of honor...fighting to the death..., and does this?!" He shook his head in disbelief. Why would a warrior that used his skill to make up for his other shortcomings be so keen to end his own life in the face of defeat? As chivalrous as Zechal was, mercy could have been seen as more of an insult than it could a privilege to fight another day, with death being the only manner of solution that could be seen. This way of thinking did nothing but irritate him as he kicked around the dirt like an upset child that couldn't get his way."Are all samurai like this...? Barbarians that will not do anything unless it involves blood and murder?!" He was angry that he couldn't understand such a philosophy, though at the same time he didn't want to, and wasn't required to understand it.

 _Such a foolish way of thinking! Is that what you were trying to show me just now?!_ He thought to himself as he looked at the bandits body, feeling his heart wrench in an un-explainable pain. _If this was a lesson, I don't want it!_

He then stopped suddenly when the image of the princess flashed in his mind, bringing back a sense of some renewed hope that there was still room for purity in the world, or at least the one he has taught to know. He shook his head, putting off all of his negative thoughts.

"I have no time to waste here. I have to get back to the princess!" Running at top speed, he left the corpse sitting where it was to the other side of the fields, hurrying to the scene to protect his charge.

Cesar paced around as he awaited the action of the two, who simply stood by, overlooking the whole situation from both fronts. His nails got shorter and shorter from biting them more often than he should have been, being in a clear anxious mood. Once every few seconds, he stopped in his path, as if wanted to say something to the still immobile Afro and Black Dynamite, but swallowed the words and continued his pacing.

Hearing the trotting going on just behind him, Black Dynamites fists balled up with his teeth grinning in around he then gestured a fist to the shocked Cesar, who became more lenient in his actions, sitting down in the spot where stopped. Fidgeting nervously, he took a deep breath before speaking.

"So, aren't we going to go to them now? I believe their battles are finished, and we can retrieve them."

Afro quietly held his hand in the air, offering silence to Cesar, slightly perked up from about to hear him speak

"There still might be more in hiding." He said bluntly, giving confusion to him rather than the levity that he was looking for. Unexpectedly, Black Dynamite nodded in agreement, breathing heavily through his nose while darting his eyes in both direction on lookout.

"That's right. And if there are more of them somewhere, they don't know that's more than three of us out in the field. That way, when they do come-" _and I really hope they do_ "We can catch **them** by surprise!"

Cesar had a slightly hard time arguing with such surprisingly sound planning, though didn't feel inclined to exactly getting on their bad sides. Despite his rather mild mannered attitude towards the group, he did hold a rather moderate fear for samurai, which is mainly due to their current reputation as ruthless killers for feudal lords or outlaws at best with no ties to anyone in power. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the ones he was chosen to serve could fall in either category while also be accompanied by their great skill.

"So how much longer should we wait?" He asked the two of them. I am positive Huey- _dono_ has the situation under control by going after our charge, but what about the other one? Zechal?"

Black Dynamite winced at Cesar's lack of an honorific for Zechal, snickering while managing to hold back his full laughter. Though mild mannered, Cesar had surprisingly high standards for judging people that he would meet, and referring to them in honorifics shows that he had a high respect for that person. Black Dynamite snorted when he came to this realization, but soon faded back into seriousness.

"That's up to our fearless leader here." He said nodding at Afro, who hardly acknowledged the concerns held by Cesar. His face scrunched up like an unsure puppy, ignorant on whether or not he had that much faith in his apprentice as a warrior, or was attempting to test him in some way. He even considered the worst possible scenario, wanting all of them to die by the bandit's hand. "Anyway, I'm sure they'll be fine from here."

Cesar sighed deeply.

"Coming from you, why do I have such a hard time believing such a thing?"

About ten minutes had passed of the three of them standing by in the bushes. Suddenly, Afro stood up from his seat.

"Afro- _dono_?" Cesar tried to question him as Afro moved through the bushes, running out onto the fields. His heart hastened slightly when he began to think about what could have made him move in such a manner. He then saw Black Dynamite do the same, taking off without so much uttering a word.

"Dynamite- _dono_? What has happened?!" Soon both of them left a confused Cesar in the dust. Seeing that he will get no more answers standing still, he followed suit behind them, making their way by the shack where Huey and Jazmin were with the bandits.

By the time they had made it, they had witnessed a scene that had been a complete downturn from what they had expected to see when Huey had went off after Jazmin.

They saw their charge, a princess thought of pure and virtuous, cowered to the ground in tears with her hands sullied in fresh blood deposit, and a lifeless bandit on the ground with Huey's sword lodged in his chest. Cesar stood there with his mouth agape as he struggled to put the whole scene together for his brain to process.

"What...happened here?" Cesar asked a question which the silence deemed rhetorical.

Afro stood forth to Huey, who stood by Jazmin with her previously lavish attire now uncouth and dirty with her hands drenched.

"We were attacked by the bandits...but Huey had fought them off."

"He fought them off?" Black Dynamite raised an eyebrow of concern."So why pray tell, are your hands covered in blood?"

"I...umm..." She struggled to give an answer, as the truth wasn't exactly an easy thing to disclose, as it was something that even Jazmin herself couldn't grasp. Huey knew this, and stepped forth in front of her.

"It was my fault." Huey swallowed his spit as everyone's attention had focused on him."I wasn't looking when I was fighting, she had gotten injured behind my back by one of the bandits." All of them had stood there stunned, even more when he had bowed his head in apology, to Afro in particular who stood there motionless."I'm sorry _sensei_. I...hesitated in my actions, which led to her injury." A few seconds passed, and Afro begun to slowly walk towards Huey, with his fist clenched tightly.

Cesar reached his arm out to Afro, only to be pulled back by Black Dynamite, who had an inkling of what was about to happen given the current state of things, and suddenly Huey ended up flying as his Master's fist struck against his face. Knocking him into the dirt, and feeling dazed, he felt his mouth with his hand, pressing his finger against his lips as he saw it drawing blood from the strike. He stood up on his feet, and gritted his teeth, knowing the punishment wasn't over.

Afro stood above him as he picked himself up, only to strike him down once more only with his knee to the apprentice's stomach. A strike so powerful, Huey felt as if a large force began to rupture his insides, keeling over trying to hold it together, and just breifly tasting vomit crawling from the back of throat and managing to swallow at the last second.

"Get up." Afro said bluntly, issueing the command to his apprentice, which he had managed to comply with. Once again, another hard strike had went across Huey's face, knocking down once more, with the process repeating for another minute or two until his face had swelled and ran red from its repeated punches.

Zechal arrived to the scene out of breath, witnessing the discipline proceeding. His eyes then snapped over the downed princess Jazmin.

"Princess!" He ran over immediately, embracing her without a second thought as she turned to face him.

"Zechal!" Her eyes turned big." You're okay!"

"Of course I am. An enemy like that couldn't take me down even if they tried!" He said confidently. His brain scattered around in loops as he saw the blood on her hands upon separating.

"Your hands! What happened?!" He exclaimed. Her eyes darted around until coincidentally landing on Huey, whom she could picture in her mind saying _do not say a word_.She decided to stay quiet because of this, and to not make his punishment even worse.

The silence only made Zechal more curious, and saw the afflicted Huey on the ground in front of his master, and begun to piece together his own version of the only an assumption, his gaze towards Huey gave him a solution, even being satiated through his means of being chastised with it bringing a slight grin to his face.

After another minute of the others watching, Afro had stopped his 'chastisement' with a final strike to young Huey's nose, knocking him on his back, and rendering him unconscious. As the others stood by, Afro walked off towards the shack without so much as uttering a word to the others, only beckoning them to follow. Zechal held Jazmin her shoulders and helping her walk. For a brief moment, he looked at the downed Huey with a piercing gaze which had said a lot more than speaking. An opinion of anger and confusion, only fueled by his recent experience.

Jazmin peeked over her shoulders to see Huey still on the ground, even twitching from the amount of hits he had taken, frowning over the risk he had taken for her, unsure of what to think of it.

Black Dynamite then walked over to Huey picking him up and slinged him on his shoulder,moving after Afro. Cesar stood there still processing the whole ordeal that witnessed while at the same time looking at the laid corpse that were once the bandits that he assumed Huey defeated, though the look of Jazmin with bloodied hands did leave a lot for one to ponder.

"Did...he know what happened? Is that why he did that? He didn't say anything." Cesar asked Black Dynamite, and with his back still turned, he silently replied.

"When a woman is standing by corpse with blood on her hands when a man was supposed to protect 'em. You ain't gotta say much."

Huey drifted off, still being slightly awake after falling unconscious, beginning to see the sun being set behind the trees, unsure of how much time had pass, and feeling his body feel some sort of bump every few seconds. As his eyes closed, the image of training with Afro played once more, with the words ringing ever more in his head.

 _No hesitation. Ever._

Huey knew the full intentions of his actions, and what they meant, but not why he did them. To let it happen in front of him, was it a sign of weakness? Or the taciturn that his master engraved in him that he ignored?

"I can't let it happen...Not again..."

 **Chapter 7 END**

 **Fro Ninja; Hey guys. Thank you so much for reaching the end of the chapter, and for seeing the Apprentice of the Number Two, and Princess's Shield in action, which I can promise is only gonna get better. Also, very sorry that this chapter took so long to come out with. Expect the next one, pretty soon. Peace, and one love!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Fro Ninja; Hey guys! WASSSUUPPP! And you don't even have to say it. I have been gone for a while. About 3-4 months of writers block, but who was counting tho right? Certainly not I. In truth, I was trying to update a my other stories as well as this one with a few more chapters, but since this was literally the last day of the month, I still felt I had to give you guys something in return for waiting so long. This chapter is pretty short, but keep on the look out for I will plan to update very soon afterwards. Without further ado, let's get to it!**

I never have dreams anymore, at least, have the dreams that most people that I know have. I guess it would be something of odd stretch to say that I forgotten how to do so. Was it because I wished it? I can't look at it that way, trying to become the one true victim of my own problems. Even in retrospect, the dreams I used to have were always so far and between, I would always have trouble remembering anything about them. Except for one.

This one I could never forget, as it always manages to surface whenever I least expect. I remember almost like flickering pictures being flashed before my eyes, causing me to remember every detail of the scenes, whether I wanted to or not.

 _"Hurry up boy!"_ That voice was always the first thing that would shoot through my ears as the scene came alive in my head, the urgency in my grandfathers voice as we ran through what seemed like an endless forest path. I could feel the weight of unkempt and saggy clothes, and the scratches and marks left from falling over on my feet so many times while running. My baby brother Riley held fast onto my back, unsure of his situation.

I can call out credit to the memory of my 5 year old self for the recollection of such a scene, but maybe it was because th situation called for it. I

" _They're catching up to us!_ " I could hear his voice reaching out to me, though his face was covered by the darkness that wrapped around the luscious greenery. It was even harder to see as my vision blurred from the tears running down my eyes brought about by my useless crying.

" _Ahhh!"_ I yelped out as my face hits the dirt, resulted from my clumsy and uncoordinated steps. My grandfather grumbled loudly as he picked me up, scooping me in his arm.

 _"Dammit boy! You've gotta keep up! We gotta get as much distance from them as possible!"_ Who is 'them'? Who was chasing us that day? This is the part I always have the most trouble remembering? It was clear we were in danger, but from what? Suddenly the breaking noise of horse hooves shoot off in the distance, about a few miles south from where we were running from.

' _They're getting closer I thought.'_ Why would I think that? My fear was more than obvious looking back in retrospect, which makes it a bit easier to figure how I could have forgotten such a thing that threatened the life of me and my family. My understanding of the situation caused me to fear for my life even more, along with my thoughts becoming clearer.

My grandfather looked down at me with mixed expression of paranoia and anger. " _Which way boy?!"_ My finger instinctively pointed to a location further northwest of where we were running to, which if I recall was an old quarry of sorts that was used a hiding spot for many escapees in the past. Grandad headed down my conceived location without a second thought. Despite my age at the time, my grandfather was put my insight ahead above all, at least when the situation got became more than desolate enough.

The jangling sound of our cut chains echoed in my eardrums, adding to the cacophony of the thunderous foot steps that drew closer to our position. We were absent of such things around our wrists, yet we were paying the price of such an action.

Little by little, we closed the gap between the quarry and us. Before long, we had came to a clearing just a few seconds after stepping foot out of some thick bushes that lied just a few feet from where had taken out detour. Now this part...seems new to me. This must be a new memory that managed to surface back up. I scan the contents of the scene, matching the eye movements of Grandad and my younger self as they try to inspect the environment before proceeding. With an open area such as this, anything could jump and ambush us without much regard to prior observation. The air grew with more malicious intent as the hooves that had been hounding us for miles had stopped, with loud whispers taking its place. Grandad's grip on me and my brother tightened as my eyes tried to make sense of what was in front of my as the bushes rustled about, with voices filling the silence. Before I knew it, the scene begins to fade and distort, as if the picuture itself was being burned by an unknown fire. It had been so long that new or old no longer applies to the quality of these dreams, yet I only continue to have them as the most sporadic times. Do they have purpose towards my future, or are they simply ploys for trying to grasp an undesirable past? And the words, "never be afraid". Spoken by my grandfather with the most intended purposes of facing my fears, they continue to echo in my mind, along with the words spoken by my master, "Survival by any costs". The words meld like no other.

The origin begins to lose track of itself in the endless sea that is my unconsciousness.

 _Whose words? Are they his?_ I think to myself as a voice drags my out of my stasis.

* * *

Huey's eyes opened to the doting face of Cesar hovering directly above his, adjacent to that of Princess Jazmine, whose face resembled that of a dour puppy.

"He's coming to!" Cesar yelped out in surprise as his companions eyes opened more fully.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" Jazmin also offered her concerns to young Huey, breathing a sigh of relief. He took a thorough look at his surroundings before sitting up. He saw it was indeed nightfall, in the corner of his eye spotting the makings of campsite with a fire going on nearby. As he stretched his body upward, he felt a slight, but sharp pain go through it, pulling him back. His hands felt around his chest and face, coming to the sensation of bandages on them, fresh and neatly wrapped, meaning it hadn't been too long since his recuperation. The memory of what caused such injuries flashed in his mind, causing him to sigh heavily at such events. Cesar chuckled at him, noting his concern.

"It could have been much worse." Huey said bluntly.

"I agree." Cesar responded.

This wasn't the first time Afro had "disciplined" young Huey in such a manner, he had done so many times when his training first started, and he normally never does so without the intent of creating a better warrior out of him, and a better person overall. Though intially put off by the pain it caused, Huey learned to see it as a teacher offering yet another lesson to his student, albeit a more physical one than academic.

Huey and Cesar both cocked their hear at Jazmin, ready for her supposed naive question on how it could have been worse for him. To their surprise, it never came, as she looked at the both of them with inquisitive eyes, wondering what the problem was. Her eyes then shot open, hitting her palm in realization.

"Ahhh! I understand! He could have killed you. Is that what you meant to say just now?" She said with straight face, which wad pretty much brazen from the two could see.

"Ummm, well..."Cesar scratched his head, reluctant to tell the true meaning behind such words were to create the feeling of levity rather than addressing the worst possible scenario.

"Yes. That's exactly right."Huey nodded in agreement towards the statement, giving Cesar a slight shock.

Huey knew the Princess was not as naive or stupid as she lead on to be, an observation that had made itself clear more than once today. She, like any who had stepped within the boundaries of the land, knew of the terrifying strength of the Number Two, with such a reputation reaching the ears of even the most hardened soldiers of Zemuria, who all heard tales of man who fought with the strength of 300 warriors and offered no mercy to those who he came across, be they man, woman or child. Despite being barehanded, if he had even used half of his power, there was no doubt that Huey's injuries would have been a lot worse with the exception of killing him, striking a particular nerve or pressure point and making it so that Huey would never be able to wield a sword again, rendering him useless.

"But still, I have never seen a master discipline his student in such a manner. Such treatment is frowned upon on the knights in my country." Jazmin said with a somber tone, upset that she couldn't understand such a method of creating a better individual by breaking them down. Huey saw that and shook his head at such a thought, marking it as nilch.

"There's no use getting upset at something you probably can't understand." Huey said. Cesar gasped at such a harsh statement, and looked to Jazmin in concern. She had smiled, seeing the kindness hidden in his blunt words. Baffled that he was worried over nothing, he stood up to get a drink from the water jug sitting near a stump. Filling it halfway, he handed it back to Huey.

"Thanks." He gulped it down in one swallow, feeling the soreness of his throat, the slight pain made him spill some of it out of his mouth and drip onto his disheveled robe. Cesar gestured with two hands to take it easy, which Huey had ignored and continued on. The princess then stood up from her seat to go over by the campfire, pitching the logs with a nearby stick to allow the fire to breathe more. It amused her, looking at it for more than a few seconds, after setting the the stick down. Such a sight fascinated her, as was finding the beauty simply in the nature of all things.

Huey took a deep breath, setting the drink down and trying to sit back up, feeling the same sharp pain from a few minutes ago bounce up and down his body, making slow and careful movements to not pull anything.

"Feels like...he did more than I thought." Huey pondered while rolling his tongue around his mouth, feeling some extra cuts.

Cesar chuckled nervously.

"Well...Black Dynamite- _dono_ did take some...liberties while you were unconscious and while Afro- _dono_ wasn't looking."Huey frowned in disgust just picturing the person in question getting a bit overzealous with offering discipline to someone who is not even his apprentice, imagining his stone face break with a psychotic smile irritated him rather than send fear.

"Of course he did..." He sighed, and quickly discarded any anger he had. Why challenge someone at a game you have no chance at winning, he thought.

 **"If it were up to me, I would have joined in as well.** " A voice sounded out reaching Huey's ears faster than the other two, and spotted Zechal coming out from behind the tree with a handful of dry logs for the fire. "But us knights are taught to restrain themselves from emotion when it comes to fighting, as a testament to our training and discipline. Something you seem to be sorely lacking it seems." Zechal curiously looked at the injured Huey in the same way one looks at a ruined monolith. Despite his words, he still felt angry towards the apprentice's negligence to protect his charge, though the deserved intentions of such a treatment made him content enough to deal with it. The apparent shortcomings of a warrior according to his merit. Along with his obvious dislike for him, it was something that he couldn't help get upset about.

"But at least such actions warrant a natural outcome. Be thankful that you were not raised in the garrison. Your defiance would be seen as an inability to learn rather than a correction." Zechal chuckled in an insulting tone.

"Last time I checked, I wasn't **your** apprentice." Huey strained, though managed to stand up on his feet."And you're noones master." He stated with barely any subtly behind his words, putting forth their full intent. The Number Two's apprentice was known for a quite a few things, with his sharp tongue usually being the first on the list. Zechal found such behavior amusing however, almost happy even that someone so young could have such an unrestricted temperance, taking it as a personal challenge.

"Now theres something we can actually agree on there. If you were mine, you would be BEGGING for death to come quicker than seeking it out on the battlefield. Your lack of proper discipline makes you incapable of moving forward as a warrior, or a samurai as you so call it."

"You keep speaking of discipline. Why? You keep trying to pick a fight with all of us simply out of spite of who we are, instead of cooperating, and you call us undisciplined?"

"Indeed. Why should I hold back in such a regard. A good warrior never suppresses his true thoughts, even when among those he's allied with, or in this case, would be a betrayal to his true nature as a force to be reckoned with"

Huey shook his head at such arrogance, though he kept his calm demeanor. He knew what Zechal was trying to do, and refused to be brought down to such a level. Discipline or no, he was fully aware when to repress and when to be inhibited.

"There's a huge difference between one that speaks his mind when needed, and someone who doesn't know when to stop talking even when surrounded by his betters."

"My betters?!" Zechal flared his teeth at the young one, more than upset with what was said. "I dare you to say that again, you savage whelp!" Dropping his firewood on the ground, he marched over to Huey.

Cesar hastily stepped in between the two.

"Easy Zechal- _san_. That's enough. It would bring you no pleasure nor honor to challenge an injured person, I'm sure" He did not have much cause to resort to physical intervention, not from knowing Huey could handle himself in a fight but he would know better to run his mouth when being faced down by intimidation. Zechal on the other hand was an unknown to him, although his impulsiveness was astute observation that has come up more than once today.

Jazmin sighed in an annoyed manner at the sight of Zechal attempting to get a feared reaction out of an unflinching Huey. She knew better than anyone that his scare tactics, rarely if not ever worked on anyone, and was even less likely to work on someone of his caliber.

This fact probably struck clean to Zechal himself as he found himself backing off from his stance.

"Hmph. You are not worth it." Zechal snorted with his nose in the air, almost as if he snatched a victory from a sleeping lion."Your steward brings up a fair point. There would no point in fighting a pup that's still licking his own wounds given to him by his own master."

"Child?" Huey scoffed."You don't look that much older than any of us."

"I am a royal knight of the Kingdom of Esmaria, and a guardian of the future queen of the entire regime. When I was your age, I was already leader of my own garrison, and before that I defeated three instructors at the academy where I was already considered a prodigy by many. I have proven that I am worthy of being called a man time and again." Zechal boasted as he walked away to pick up the dropped pieces of firewood.

"Your a man in **your** country? As for here? You were just ready to fight me just ten seconds ago." Huey fired back at him, who was quiet when realizing his poor choice of words. Jazmin giggled upon realizing them as well.

"I had done so, because if you weren't so focused on your precious honor and succeeding your braggart of master, you wouldn't have been so negligent in protecting the princess, your charge!"

The true topic finally rears it head, Huey thought to himself. He braced himself for, taking a deep breath, and quick glance at Jazmin, who herself had caught it from the corner of her eye and stepped forth to address it.

"Zechal, as I've been telling you for the past few hours, I was fine in Master Huey's protection."

"You were covered in blood when we found you! You'll forgive me if I don't believe such a statement." He said as he picked up all the rest of the logs, and dropped over right next to Jazmin.

"It was only a couple of stains." Jazmin muttered below her breath as Zechal began to dust off and tidy up her appearance, much like a doting mother on her child.

"Besides, why are you defending him anyway? He is a stranger, and a foreigner at that!"Pointing over at the target of his accusation in question. Huey snapped with confusion, looking at Zechal with a curious expression.

"A foreigner? Me? Surely you must be talking about yourself as well. A person from a strange land that has parts unknown to him, seeking a greater purpose in his duty. That's what I am as well."

Zechal frowned at him, almost to the point of disgust with his response.

"That's where you're wrong. I come here to serve my duty yes, but I also come from a background whose lineage could be traced back from when the lands of the earth were still one, and civilization didn't even have a name for society itself. My ancestors had been in service to the crown since before my father was born, amd I'm simply the next in line for such a responsibility. I know what my purpose, and what it requires my actions to be. You on the other hand, are someone who is searching for purpose by associating with a vagabonds, who claim to be doing what they do for the good of the people, yet they serve no higher power but their own ego."

"My point is...I know who I am. The question is, can you say the same?" The air suddenly grew thicker as the silence filled with a thick layer that one could practically see it. Huey offered no response, staying still for a moment before walking over to his sword that was leaning over by a tree just a few feet away and taking it in his hands. He strained feeling the weight on his sore muscles, but got over the sensation rather quickly. The sword came out of its sheath, with the steel blade still somewhat stained from its previous conflict with its victims blood, which was only so since neither Afro, Cesar, nor Black Dynamite had cleaned it for the apprentice.

 _A blade is your own life. Wash it, sharpen it, brandish it. Do not think of it as simply an extension of your will, but a reflection of what you truly want to see in yourself._ He thought of words spoken by his master when first receiving it just barely a year ago, even still adapting to its weight.

He looked at the stained blade, it was clouded and dirty, with the young samurai unable to himself clearly like he was once able to before today's event. He sighed deeply, noticing the trouble that he couldn't put into words before placing it back into its sheath.

Zechal scoffed at his reluctance or rather his futile attempt to show off something with his sword. Huey then held his sword above his head, squinting his eyes to focus his sights on locating the moon beyond the tree branch leaves.

"When my master gave me my sword, he told me...that a sword is not simply an extension of my will, but a reflection of what I aim for, who I want to become. Everytime I clean my sword or just look at it, I can see myself as clear as day. I know who I am at that moment. A person who seeks to learn the ways of the sword, so that he can be a samurai that fights for his own loved ones, and to seperate himself the bonds that once held him down, grasping true freedom. But right now...my swords dirty, I haven't cleaned it all day today, so I can't see anything. But despite that...I know exactly who I am, and what I choose to become. Even if my eyes cannot see my own reflection, my heart will continue to tell me who I am."

The young knight rolled his eyes, clearly flippant in his mind, though part of him wanted to believe him.

"And what if your heart betrays you in what you seek? What then? Will you cower in fear simply because you lost your way?"

"I will not." He then placed his sword at his side, tying it to his hip. " **I will never be afraid** " Such words sent chills down Huey's spine, being that they were the first time they have ever left his lips despite only hearing them in a dream, almost as if another voice spoke through him.

Cesar and Jazmin were taken aback by the young one's speech, almost smitten by how such words could be formed by somone with such little means of truly expressing himself fully. Not even Cesar who had known Huey the longest had never heard him speak in such a manner. Jazmin smiled brightly with confidence, as if she always she always knew this was a trait that was tied to him.

"I will protect those that I have been charged with. Cesar, The Princess, and even you." Zechal scratched the back of his neck, sucking his teeth before sitting down on the ground, refusing to argue anymore with Huey or to even acknowledge such a heartfelt statement.

"Do as you must, samurai. It's not like I can stop you." He bashfully turned his back on him, not wanting to show his face."Besides, it's clear what honor means to you people, I know better than to interfere in such things that I know nothing about, and that I don't want to know about."

"Honor can mean many things to a warrior Zechal-san." Cesar cleared his throat. "To a samurai, it simply means serving a purpose that is more than himself. Whether that be for his lord, a loved one, or one that they swear the most absolute loyalty for. Even if it means giving up his or her life for them. Nothing gives them more pleasure to know that they have died for something to take place for the sake of the future, and that they had a role to play in it."

"Sounds like a bunch of hogwash to me. What's the point of seeking pleasure in death even after swearing your loyalty. Nothing is worth dying for, no matter what you might think!" Zechal exclaimed.

"But have you not sweared your life to your kingdom as you keept stating? To protect your liege with every fiber of your being."

"It's not the same! I do so because it's my birthright, my inherited duty to serve the crown. I have no choice but to abide surely, but I do not go around seeking death, knowing that my life is forfeit to some superficial lord or some materialistic desire!"

"But to serve your king, means that the honor of giving your life to his cause is no your own, therefore it falls to you to accomplish it any cost."

" A knight protects by fighting his kings enemies, not by throwing his life away in the middle of battle like some blood hungry vandal!"

Cesars eyes popped wide open in surprise. "That is most peculiar Zechal-san. For someone who boasts as well, I was not expecting you to have such a low opinion of your fellow warriors."

"You people are NOT my fellows!" Zechal schreeched out. "And why do you keep referring to me by that title, and give the others different ones?!"

"Because you are not worthy of my respect." Cesar flatly said, upsetting him even more.

"Not worthy?! What makes you think I want your respect huh?! And besides, you don't even fight, so why would give a damn about you?!"

The two started to ramble on, Huey and Jazmin watched them with content eyes, not even batting an eye as Zechal started to throw sticks and twigs at Cesar, who dodged them ease. Huey then walked to the campfire, sitting next to Jazmin, who scooted over to give him space. Both of them looked out at the fire, even counting the sparks fly with the chaos going on in the background.

"By the way, where did Sensei and Black Dynamite go?" Huey asked as he looked around the camp. Jazmin giggled at his sudden aloofness, finding it oddly amusing.

"After all this time, you are just asking that?"

"Well I was having such an engaging argument with your vigilant guardian, I felt inclined to at least hold off on all worthwhile questions." The deadpan sentence reached the princess's ears, taking it as simply another individual expressing himself, an action she herself knew all too well.

"Suffice it to say, he is more...level headed than this. It seems being in another's territory has him a bit..."

"Paranoid?"

"Well, I was going to say overly cautious."

"So paranoid then? Next thing you know, he's going to start arguing with me about domestic issues and policies, and won't even bother to cover for an objective argument."

Jazmin rolled her eyes in agreement." Politics definitely isn't one of his well versed fields of study. He finds this progress more than needless. Simply put, he can't comprehend how people can settle formal disputes with mere words, and come out unscathed in some manner." Huey grimaced for a brief second, noticing the irony.

"But he serves under a politician..."

"Strangely enough, he doesn't see me as such. Merely a noble soul who performs actions to uphold the name of their fathers, much like him. Actually, call it cocksure, but I have truly never delved into his reasoning until you brought it up." The princess rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the flames."Perhaps his thought merely reflects those of my country. I have not done anything to justify my title holding besides it being my birthright." Huey placed his finger to his chin, sinking into minor thought before grunting affirmatively. Jazmin looked at him in confusion.

"So that's why you're on this trip in the first place." He said in his usual blunt manner, though the words themselves were enough to surprise her. Despite her not trying to hide her intentions, he was the only one to have figured it out so quickly."You want to prove to your country that you can be independent without relying any officials debating on what to do or how to handle it. You would just handle it yourself. This isn't just on behalf of your kingdom. You have your own personal ageda, don't you?"

"Does...that upset you Master Samurai?" She said in deep concern."I have no ulterior motives than to aid my father and my kingdom in this time of need. Very soon, we will be going to war, and we will need many resources at our disposal than just our own. We are a strong people, but we are quickly reaching a breaking point within our infrastructure. We're too busy fighting among ourselves in squabbles made up of sullen pride and faux patriotism values. I have known about this country for quite some time, and their willingness to help others has been...futile to say the least. But I feel that..."

"You can do better somehow?"

"I have virtually no general experience of traveling outside of my kingdom. A lot of knowledge only originates from my studies and other fabricated tales, so I have no way of knowing how my mission will turn out. But I assure you, I have only the most noble of intentions of venturing here, hiring you all as my escorts to what seems to only be a very minuscule window of opportunity for the both of us. If you wish, throughout our journey, if you have any questions about anything, I will answer to best of my ability. If not..." Her gaze looked on Huey's brazen face, not taking her eyes off him for a second. He responded in kind.

"If not?" He asked.

"Then you can...smack me on the wrists!"

"What?" He responded flatly. She suddenly grabbed his wrist and lightly tapped her index and middle finger on the back of his hand.

"It's a punishment my mother did for me as a child whenever I couldn't do something that was told of me. It hurts quite a lot. If it comes to it, I give you permission to enact such a thing on me."

 _This girl...can't be serious, can she?_ Huey thought.

"I am very serious Master Samurai! Anytime I step out of line also applies." He was silent, absent for an answer in both thought and speech, even still attempting to process it all clearly, since all the tension in the air was cut with a blade that was sharper than any he had ever seen. While he didn't even know her for a full day, she has already shown more sides of her than he was expecting out of a mere escort. He had no reason to believe, let alone listen to anything she could say if it didn't have anything to do with the mission, though he did so anyway. Not even that, his eternal guard never seemed to work on her. Why was that? Was that simply the effect she had on others that sat below her, or was it something else?

Huey gave a deep sigh, turning his head back to the campfire.

"That won't be necessary. I'll trust you to answer honestly."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up.

"Really. I'm still on a journey to prove myself as well. So it's not like I don't understand what you're going through. If you can give me answers when I have questions, you can count on me to protect you with everything I have."

She gasped with glee, placing her hands together tightly against her chest.

"Thank the gods. I offer my gratitude Master Samurai."

"Just call me Huey."

"You mean...address by your name?"

"Yeah, just call me Huey. I'm nowhere near a master, and I can't call myself a samurai until my own master says I'm worthy."

"Very well then...H-h-h..." She stuttered in her pronunciation, even blushing beet red as the words tried to slip out of her mouth. Until finally."H-Master Huey..."

"Close enough..." He said shaking his head in compliance. This was a test that required more patience than he was capable of. "Anyway, as I was asking you - _sensei_ and Black Dynamite, where did they go?"

"They went back to where those farmers were. They wanted to ask some more questions on the bandits that attacked them."

"Makes sense, seeing as how we already intervened." Huey chided.

Jazmin hung her head down low. "I aplogize for getting you involved. I fear my impulsivness still has yet to wear down even after coming here."

"You're definietely right about that one." He said nonchalantly."But they would have died if we hadn't done anything..." He said shrugging his shoulders. Her frowining broke with her usual smile after hearing his somewhat diluted words of comfort. She didn't bother saying thanks, knowing that it would probably break him even further, or even end up taking a punch from Zechal."Anyway, let's just hope they make it back soon..." Huey set down another log on the fire as he saw the flame dying down, making it rise once again."We still have a long way to go after all."

The two sat listening to the back ground noise of Cesar and Zechal straining their own throats out. Within the shadows, behind the bushes, a figure lurked around, watching the kids by the campfire.

 **Chapter 8 END**

 **Fro Ninja; Well, that's about it for now! See you guys soon, and remember, One Love!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Fro Ninja;Hey guys! The Fro Ninja here with another update with possibly one of my favorite stories to work on so far. Our gang has certainly gotten to a rather rough start for their journey, and suffice it to say, it's only gonna get rougher! Let's hope they can pull through through whatever gets thrown at them!**

The old farmer's wife shakingly poured green tea into the cracked porcelin cup, serving it to the Number Two, and his intimidating companion in tow. To say that it was two guests that were a rare sight in the couple's household was only putting it very mildly. The farmer's shack was just that, with the roof looking ready to collapse in any second, and the sharp whistling of the wind coming in through the tears of paper on the doors. The wife looked at their faces, feeling a not so subtle sense of fear from the impression the two were leaving given their what seemed to be permanent scowls. Despite the aura of malice they gave off, their body language spoke a different story, being relaxed and poised like good proper guests, giving their effort to not discard their common courteousy of someone else's household. They even made the decision to leave their swords with the husband, not that they would really need it, would it come to some unknown situation.

Black Dynamite sat adjacent to Afro on the neatly crafted small rectangular table, with their legs barely being able to reach under it to sit properly. The wife pushed two cups of tea toward them. Both of them shook their head simultaneously, refusing the offer for refreshments.

"I don't drink tea. Makes me sleepy." Dynamite said bluntly waving away the offer with his hand, causing the wife to retract the tea swiftly, taking his gesture as bond. Such words told that they were not here for simple pleasantries.

"I am sorry Master Samurai. I apologize for my rudeness." The wife slowly bowed her head in respect, as if she had comitted an offense towards them, which was quite the contrary. Black Dynamite fidgeted from the gesture. He was clearly not used to such a formality, so much so that it made him a little uncomfortable.

"Now, now. There's no need for all that...whatever it is your doing old farmer's wife." He said formally to her, though she only looked at him in confusion upon raising her head, as if she had just heard gibberish. "Me and my..." He glanced over at Afro with wavering eyes, unsure of how to address him given their less than friendly relationship. Which would be understandable if you gave qualms to one day kill another man. He then searched his mind for the words to put forth. "...associate here, only came here for information in regards to what happened today, with those men."

Her expression then turned sullen, dreading the very thought of the topic. As if on cue, her husband suddenly stepped into the room, locking eyes with the two guests sitting at his dinner table, soon noticing his wife starting to shake in her seat. He sat down next to her, placing his beaten hands over her shoulders, trying to calm her down, calmly whispering in her ears reassuring words. Black Dynamite cleared his throat, breaking the silence.

"Now, I know that bringing up what happened earlier is something difficult to do, but I'm gonna need you people to try your best to tell us everything about these turkeys, in case they might come after us, and by us, I of course mean you." He gestured to the farmers. Clearly he wanted little do to with anything that wasn't relevant to the assignment him and the others have yet to even get formally on track with. Not even their leader Afro was exactly keen on participating in an unwanted conflict, judging by how unwilling he was on asking even the slightest detail on their would be adversaries.

The husband took a deep breath, softly rubbing his wrinkled hands before speaking.

"They...have been here before. At this farm. As you might have noticed, this is the only the only source of food and other crops for miles in this entire prefecture."

"Really? I wouldn't have put it past anybody with all of the local and deleticable wildlife just running freely around here that any joe schmoe could just pick up and eat, but please continue." He said in an annoyed tone. Not towards the old couple, but more towards the general idea of performing such an action. The old man wracked his brain, tapping his head to recount past events.

"It was...about a month ago...I think. One of them showed up to our door, asking for water, a young man. He looked exhausted and restless, and he was blind on top of that. We were at a loss for words how he was even able to travel so far on his own in his condition without at least a guide to help him. Me and my wife took pity on the poor soul, and have him a pack filled with some rice and water, and sent him on his way towards the nearest rest stop about a few miles from here."

"And let me guess, this is where you messed up." The old man nodded, acknowledging his mistake.

"A few days later, two more men came asking for water as well. Both of them blind and wearing similar attire to the boy we had helped out."

"That didn't strike you as suspicious in the least?"

"We as a people always try to extend helping hand to those in need, regardless of origin. It is simply in our nature."

Black Dynamite rolled his eyes, clearly skeptical of such of a justification, but didn't bother to press on it.

"Anyway, as the two came and left, then three more came the next day, and then five more came the day after. Eventually, they would come in droves demanding us we give them food and money on a regular basis, and in exchange, they would provide 'protection' for us. Month after month, they would shake us down for everything we had. When we couldn't pay them, they would destroy our crops and parts of our house. Today was the day they actually demanded us to triple the usual amount, but our luck with crops as been fruitless as of late since the soil is growing less and less fertile, and they have been getting very was the first time they had done so."

" 'Protection'? Huh...these just seem like some vandals that don't know shit but how to look up and down, which end of their sword goes where, and how to eat sideways. You telling me that they planned these assaults as if they're some kind of organized gang?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. The way they move, almost as if they are all working towards a common goal, by performing like minded actions." Black Dynamite raised his eyebrow in reluctance to believe the old mans story, who began to grow more and more fearful by the second.

"What's worse is, even though they are blind, they still fight with deadly precision, almost as if they can somehow see despite having no eyes."

"Fighting without eyes huh?" crossed his arms, going deep into thought about what kind of people these 'Blind Bandits' were."I never thought I would see the day..." He said nonchalantly. The old man jumped up with a sharp gasp.

"You mean...you know what these people are?!" He shook his head, having no idea of their origin in the slightest.

"Back when I was traveling with my whores and orphans..." took a pause, taking second to notice any reactions from the people around the table, but received no such ovation. Slightly hurt, he continued "Well...I heard some rumors about this weird blind cat that came from one of the islands and used a weird ass sword style that nobody had ever seen before. Instead of the normal way of holding his blade in a forward stance, he held his in a reverse grip, and fighting as if he could see every move his opponent was going to make right down to the very muscle movement. They see he would go around from dojo to dojo, challenging anybody who he thought would entertain him something real good. Then a few years later, he just vanished."

"It's might be rumors, but from what you old folks is saying, then the style these turkeys were fighting with, might be the same style that weird guy as if the learn from this guy!" started to chuckle nervously, clearly afraid of the possible connection."But, those are just rumors though...By the way...where did you say these turkey's came from again?

"I don't exactly, remember where they came from, but it's clear that from their attire and their barbaric behavior, they were probably from one of the islands."

The two of them felt both of their breaths pause in anticiplation, and trying to guess what might be happen next upon hearing that statment.

"The islands? Don't tell me...these guys are from Ryukyu?!"Black Dynamite exclaimed. The islands were possibly one of the more out of pocket locations that could be described to a mainlander, though to an obvious foreigner such as him, not so much. Being part of the island region besides Okinawa, it was notorious for its various ships and other cargo carriers that would come there, often having travelers from various parts of the world exchanging wares and other cultural items. Since the starting days of the Edo, the Ryukyu islands were seen as something of a breeding ground for foreign influences that mix with Japanese culture. More often than not, many of the people that come from such a mixed background are said to be nothing more than barbarians that know nothing of the traditional customs of the mainland, and usually turn to a life of crime to survive once they do come here. Though he hadn't been back there in some time, Black Dynamite knew all too well what the people there were capable of.

"Yes! That must be it!" The farmer's wife said engagingly.

Black Dynamite slammed his hand on the table in shock, being unable to fathom the realization of who the bandits might be, and even more so, who their leader might be. He then glared at Afro, who remained sitting in silence. "What the hell did that boy of yours get us into Afro?!" He growled loudly, no longer trying to hold back his intimidating aura, a justified reason seen almost instinctively by Afro himself.

"Please calm down master samurai!" The old man weeringly said.

"Oh I'm perfectly calm old man. I'm as calm as a daisy flower in the middle of a typhoon! It's just the connection between rumor and reality, had me mighty concerned over the teaching method of a particular teacher that shouldn't be teaching in the first place!" His voice roared out intentely, somehow shaking the roof with the sound waves alone.

"Please stop yelling, you're scaring my wife!" The old man said, cradling her restless and shaking body. Suddenly, with one wave of a gesture to calm him down, Afro slowly opened his mouth with his dreary eyes revealing themselves from their long closure.

"That's enough." He said calmly and clearly. The upset Dynamite had sullied his anger once he heard his rival in that tone. He knew that there was no use trying to scare him in such a manner when he retains a cool demeanor, as it was simply futile to do so, trying to goad fear to a man with no fear. The old couple stood captivated as well, seeing no reason to stand in fear to man who is simply asking questions.

"What more can you tell us about them, and where they come from?" Afro leaned in, questioning the old couple on all they knew about the bandits, even keeping in check with a simple word.

* * *

The campfire started to die down only a couple minutes after Zechal finished feeding it more wood.

"What the hell is going on with this thing? Why won't it stay lit?"

Going off his word, Huey then expected the pile of firewood sitting next to Zechal, and felt a rather wet spot on the shaft of the log.

"This wood is damp. You can't light damp firewood, it won't keep the flame going." Huey stated to a growingly irritated young knight, so frustrated he didn't even bother to snap back at him. Instead he simply trounced off back towards the forest. Casesar then stopped him in his tracks at the last second, grabbing him by his arm.

"I wouldn't go back into the forest now if I were you. Who knows what kind of dangers you may face?"

Zechal squinted, as if stunned with disbelief at the lack of faith he had in him as a warrior.

"Did you really just say that to me? A knight of a royal kingdom? This is pretty defiant coming from a simple serf"

"Don't say that Zechal, he is simply concerned for your safety." Jazmine said. "As am I. It's too late for you to go back to get more firewood."

"Besides, the others still aren't back yet. We have to wait for them before we do anything like moving around." Huey added.

"People...I'm just going to get more firewood. It's not like I'm going to pick a fight with some inanimate object...t _o somehow vent the unconcsious frustration I'm feeling right now..._ It won't take naught but a few minutes."

"Hmph...some royal guard. Can't even be bothered to look after his own charge." Huey chided. Zechal snorted, turning his back on the three to proceed onto the forest path.

He then stopped in his tracks, looking over his left shoulder.

"Indeed. I am quite the negligent guardsman. Such absent responsiblity I have next the apprentice who can't do anything unless his master decrees it. Truly, I'm at a loss for words." Zechal half expected another quick response from Huey, though to his surprise, and to Jazmin and Cesar, it never once came. He was silent, incapable of giving another of his witted responses. The young knight chuckled confidently, walking off with his nose in the air at his accomplishment. Words rarely hold truth according to young Huey, preferring to approach matters with action, though the words of an ally seem to have a lot more truth than he gave it credit for.

"Are you alright Huey- _dono_?" Cesar asked him, looking upon him with a disconcerted expression, almost stone faced. He gave a sharp nod to his question, seemingly shaking off the effect that Zechal left on him.

"I'm fine. I guess, I still should get some more rest before others get back."

"Yes. No doubt we will have to move out soon. We have lost our only method transportation to the next village, so we will have to go by foot."

"How far is the nearest village from here?" The princess asked.

"It's about a half days journey from here, but the path is covered by a thicketed forest path. In the past, it used to desired ambush spot for many bandits and theives."

With one look, Huey instantly arrived at the point that Cesar was trying to make, looking almost ready to go on the defensive.

"You think that..."

"It might be a most inevitable possiblity." Cesar stated.

Jazmin, though somewhat outside of their line of thought, managed to grasp the concept of what they were implying.

"Do you mean to say that...the bandits from earlier...might attack us when we start to move out?" She asked woefully.

"We wouldn't want to make any such assumptions. We are only talking in what-ifs at the moment."

"And it's pretty much a strong what if." Huey agreed."But one thing I don't realize is why these guys are even out here in the first place."

"How do you mean?"

"It's just that I thought bandits were attracted to travelers en route to the mainland and sacked villages, not some elder farmers on the fringes of a remote forest."

Cesar placed his finger on his chin, dwelling in thought on Huey's observation.

"You are right about that, it does seem a little out of a normal bandits element. A regualar bandit, or at least the ones we usually have to deal with are of a brigand sort. Simply taking as they please from any individual, innocent or otherwise. But that farm, they have specifically targeted it for ?" The two sat there trying to piece any conceivable clue they had at this supposed mystery. The valid point of it being that no mere bandits would simply go after a random farm that's so out of the way, especially with the skills that they displayed despite their handicaps, meaning that they were trained very cordially.

Jazmin's eyes then lit up in discovery, tapping her fist in the palm of her hand, almost causing the two flinch at the sound.

"I remember! Back at the farm when the bandits were assaulting the farmers. They had said something about giving them this weeks payment, and how they were late on it. That means the bandits and the farmers have an association of some kind."

"Association? Try extortion." Huey retorted.

"I agree with the princess. It could be an association of some kind, but not neccesarily a courteous one on either fronts."

"You saying that those farmers have a deal with the bandits?"

"I'm saying it's some kind of trade that is happening with both parties. But one of them is shirking out on their end of the bargin."

"And you're saying that it might be the farmers, judging by the behavior they displayed eariler?" Jazmin questioned Cesar on his prediction.

"It could be from a number of things, but my gut tells me normal bandits would just ransack anything that farmers, even an elderly couple like that would have and would turn no regards to any blood. But as it turns out..."

"It's not like you to go out on your gut Cesar." Huey pointed out.

"Think of it as merely a sensible attitude to our current situation. Someone ought to have one on this trip, and given our present company...well..."Cesar said with disconcerting eyes.

Huey nodded in agreement, not towards the statement itself though. With the exception of the princess and her guard, he had known the group he had been traveling and performing missions with for more than six months to be anything but empathetic towards a situation where it was clear their life was in danger instead facing with it amicable feelings, not that he was any different.

"Okay then, keep going with this theory of yours." Huey gestured with his hand.

"Believe me, this all nothing but pure speculation, I have no actual proof, but it's possible that the farmers are holding out on the bandits, which is why they had attacked them earlier." Huey and Jazmin appeared intrigued but not surprised. Calling an attack on a farm by bandits too common would be an understatement, but this case was different however."Despite this however, they had no intentions of killing them in the first place."

"What are you basing this off? How would you know that simple bandits wouldn't kill couple of farmers just to get what they want from them? Wait, unless..." Huey eyes flashed with realization, receiving a nod from Cesar who waited for his arrival to the conclusion. "They were **ordered** not to, is that what you're trying to say?" His wandered in thought as how bandits were capable of such organization. _Impressive. These aren't your everyday bandits_.Huey thought to himself.

"Dogs can be trained if you allow them enough leeway and are fervent enough in teaching you know." Jazmin playfully chided to Huey, who flared his nostrils sightly back at her.

"Are you reading my mind again?"

"It seems a sensible attitude isn't that hard to come by as a commendable one." Cesar chuckled at her surprising cheekiness.

"So...in short, who are these guys we're dealing with?"Huey asked, unsure of the answer that he was oddly certain was going to come very soon.

* * *

The old woman poured herself another cup of tea, trying to rack her brain as best as she could to answer the question given to her for the past few minutes. Black Dynamite knee became restless at her slow pacing, even going so far to believe she was stalling for something, or someone. He then cleared his throat, giving his clear displeasure with that quiet that's been more than apparent since the conversation began.

"Listen up you old cronies! Either you gonna tell us who or where these suckers came from, or we'll just find out on our own!" His said as his brow furrowed violently, setting the two off a tick in fear once more. Afro stopped him in his tracks, placing his hand on his shoulder to calm him down. Feeling the tension in his muscles, Afro placed a bit more force into his grip, causing a slight but sharp nerve reaction in Black Dynamite, making him jolt in shock at the sensation. He glared at Afro, receivng the message loud and clear, he took a breather and tried to restate his question.

"If you would please of course. My partner and I have more pressing matters we must be getting back to."

The old couple, though initially put off by the aggressive samurai's sudden change in behavior, began to relax a bit more. Before long, the old man began to move his lips, forming a sentence.

"As my wife told the story, the bandits are clearly not from the area, we would have known about them even beforehand. At first, we thought they were some sort of group that drifted too far from the mainland, but that wasn't the case."

"Are they from the islands?"Afro said, referring back to the earlier rumor. The farmer nodded in agreement.

"That would be my assumption. Their accent was rather different, more rough sounding than the one the local vermin speak out here, almost as if it were mixed with another language. Not only that, their behavior was something to take note of as well. They clearly had no idea of customs that were used here, even for bandits, but at the same time they were a lot more organized than the average one. And the last I would have to say would be..." He then stopped in his explaination.

"It's their fighting style, yes?" The farmer nodded as he began to shake at the mere thought of a human being fighting with life altering impairement such as blindness could fight with such coordination. His wife held him tightly to calm him down this time.

"I've never seen such a thing before in my entire life. I've only heard rumors of the skills and feats that master swordsman are able to accomplish in their entire lifetime, but the caliber that they were made from was...impossible to even process. The way they had moved...it wasn't human."

Black Dynamite grinned with an anxious expression almost doubting such words.

"If what they say is true, I'm almost inclined to believe your boy got lucky beating them." He nudged to Afro, who didn't react to his jab, and instead actively pondered the old mans words. He was purely entranced by the mention and the small glimpses of these adversaries method of fighting, but one question still swam around in his head.

"If what you say about them is true." Afro paused to glare at the cowering couple."Why haven't they killed you yet?" The two instantly grew solid as ice,faced with the samurai's piercing words. "You say these bandits kept coming back as you gave them more and more food, but they still didn't kill you even as they came back with greater numbers? Not only that, you seem to know quite a lot about the way they fight despite the fact this is the first time they've threatened you like this whereas the first time where just ransackings. Why do these bandits keep coming back for mere crops that you can get on virtually any farm, or even in the wilderness, and there's also the fact that even though they destroy your crops, you're still able to keep the farm running despite this. "

Black Dynamite felt his brain do backflips seeing his partner break down the farmer's statements one by one, though seemingly out of nowhere. He had as much reason to be as equally suspicious but had intentions of sticking them down with such questions or attempting to unearth contradictions. This kind of behavior he was witnessing from Afro was definitely a first.

"So hold on now. You're saying these two old, elderly,wrinkly ass farmers had something do with what happened today?Even if you say that, there's no reason to get all-" stopped all of a sudden to sense a brief tension in the air. In a flash, Afro's arm flickered with great speed, quickly reaching for his sword to partly unsheathe across the small table at the old man, causing him and his wife to yelp out in shock.

"AFRO! What the hell do you think you're doing you crazy fuck?!" Black Dyamite yelled out as the sword edged a bit closer to the old couple.

"Those bandits...were under orders."

"Of course they were, anyone can see that fool!"

"But they aren't the only ones." Afro said bluntly.

"What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean that?" Black Dynamite then sensed a looming presence coming from the door behind him. Actually, he had felt it for sometime now, but merely placed it on a draft coming from the badly maintained household, then giving one look at Afro and then a quick glance at the "farmer's", noticing the clothes they wore were oddly neat and conditioned for such a struggling farm. Without much thought, he put two and two together.

"Well, ain't that a bitch? Thanks a lot princess..."He said under his breath, and without a second thought he reached for his sword, and with a swing of his foot, sent the table flying upward.

* * *

Jazmin slowly began to rock her head back and forth, as if to give the impression that she was deducing something in her mind. Cesar picked up on her curious aura.

"Is something the matter princess?" He asked.

"Oh it's nothing. It's just...have you ever heard of a farm this far out of our way from where we left?"

"It shouldn't really be a surprise, this area is rather remote considering the next town is only half a days journey. A farmer's trek to a local town to sell his crops wouldn't be unheard of."

"In that case, shouldn't there be more farms in our general direction, not just this one?"

"Well, of course that's..." As he started to respond, he felt his train of thought almost come to a complete stop. Huey himself was shocked by what he was witnessing. Cesar Yamamoto, who was generally the group's primary source of information and useless trivia, was stumped at such a basic question.

"She's got you there." Huey chided.

"Huey- _dono_! You don't seriously think that?!" Cesar exclaimed.

"Anyway." Huey said abruptly, crushing his friends spirit slightly."What's your point when you bring up something like that?"

"It's not like I'm drawing a conclusion or anything along those lines."Jazmin explained."I simply think it's rather odd that for such a farm located in such a remote area, especially in a region that is supposed to be dedicated for supplying agricultural resources to the mainland areas, why would brigands such as that pick on that one area?" Huey and Cesar sat there, giving thought to such a statement. It was slightly odd, given their experience scouring the region during there many jobs over the past year. It was almost a gurantee that they would run into some form of a farm or a plantation that raised crops for selling to other merchants, who in turn would offer them for a higher price in more populated areas. Also with that, came the threat of hungry bandits or thugs that wanted nothing more than a free meal by physical means, but even those kinds of events were scarce at best, and at the very least random. But this case was different, this was a concentrated assault on such a farm that didn't appear to be unique in any way shape or form.

"Not only that, didn't it seem kind of odd that despite their threats, they weren't even keen on completely wiping out the farmers if they didn't give them what they wanted." Jazmin added.

"So from that, we can draw out two possibilities." Huey held out two fingers in front of them."Either the bandits have some kind of agreement to offer protection services to the farmers in exchange for their crops-which in reality they can extort from any other farm that they can find or they can even go hunting, meaning that the bandits could take out anyone that interferes in the arrangement or the entirety of the farm being there is a ploy to lure in a gang of stupid travelers that will somehow feel inclined to help them out during the scene of attack so that they can steal all of their belongings from them, and given the remote location of the farm and the lack of highway security, they can do this as much as they please without repercussions of any kind."

Both of them stood astounded by Huey's sound reasoning. In both scenarios, the bandits seem more than likely to be involved in establishing something inconceivable at first glance. A highway robbery operation.

"And in both instances..."Cesar forcefully swallowed his spit upon realizing the truth behind the events that transpired today.

"It's a trap that we walked straight into..." Jazmin face turned gray once she came to the implication of Huey's words.

"No..."

"That means...Afro- _dono,_ and Dynamite- _dono_!"

Before Cesar got out another word, the sound of the bushes rustling were picked up in Huey's ears almost instantly and slowly reached for his sword leaning near the stump where Jazmin was sitting. He silently gestured to both of them to stay quiet with a finger on his lips. Cesar knew exactly what to expect out of a situation like this without having to exchange words with him-get the princess to safety as soon as possible, for there is no possible way of knowing the enemy's numbers without drawing them out into the slowly grasped the princesses's hand and stood his foot up ready to make a quick sprint.

As soon as he did, a silhouette rushed through the darkness, and Huey quickly sprang into action, grabbing his sword and blocking the enemy's attack with the sheath in blinding speed.

"Cesar, go!"

Cesar grabbed Jazmin's hand and ran through to the forest entrance, quickly vanishing out of sight. He had no real reason to worry completely as a certain bodyguard would meet them eventually, but the chances were that they could also meet more along their way, which he did well not to dwell to much upon, leading him to lose focus. Huey held up his sword against the force of his opponents weight and felt his grip slipping,then deciding to roll out of the way in the next second. He then took the time he had to analyze his opponents appearance. It was of the same attire of the bandits that were at the farm earlier today, and he was also clearly blinded in both bandit smiled as he picked up the unmistakable sound of a sword leaving the confines of its sheathe, and stepped into his stance. Huey backed into his usual stance, but he could feel a sharp pain strike him through his lower body. His injuries were still fresh and barely treated, and he was to go against an opponent whom he couldn't tell was any more or less experienced than the ones he routed before. In the heat of the moment, the thought of his master and Black Dynamite being in a similar situation flashed in his head, and knowing that all of it is connected was something that could no longer just be glossed over for the sake of their mission.

 _I hate it when I'm right._

Huey lunged toward the blind bandit, with his sword held tight in his hand, and the bandit in turn felt the aura the young samurai gave off and responded in kind to the attack.

 **Chapter 9 END**

 **Fro Ninja;What a turn of events this turned out to be for our group. See what will happen to them as The Blind Bandit Arc kicks off next release. See you then, and remember, ONE LOVE.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Fro Ninja; Hey guys. Fro Ninja is back from the lost woods of writers block. Or to be more specific, zero motivation to write. Slowly but surely the spark is coming back, and there will be more content coming in the months to come. Thanks for understanding guys. And with that, let's get this show on the road with more samurai action!**

To say he was in a predicament would have been an absolute understatement, or at least according to how young Huey would see, it an an improvement to how things have been going lately. The process of actions that led up to this would probably be called coincidences at best, though Huey was never prone to flimsy things such as chance. Privy to the teachings, or the lectures given to him by his estranged grandfather, he believed that everything, despite the meaning behind them, was for a reason. He had a way of discerning the what could be seen as something that just happens, and something that had the appearance of figurative wall that he had to climb over that placed for a reason. In other words, a trial, in every sense of the word.

His breathing stilled for a few seconds to gain his bearings after feeling the weight of his blade place down on him, especially from the sensation of his still fresh injuries given to him by his own master, a condition that he has come to understand through the simple rememberance of the very lessons that Huey received from him. His arms felt sore as the muscles in his body tried their best coordinate his usual stance, focusing the sword at his center of his torso, and his eyes glued on his opponent. He would be able to predict every instance of his opponents actions from simply looking in their eyes. Where their next motion would be, how they are keeping him in their field of vision, and how fast they would be able to react to his movements. There was only one problem with how would be able to read his opponent in such a manner.

 _His eyes, see no world but his own._

Huey hadn't given much thought to the previous opponents that had a similar attribute, as he was almost in a trance that could be considered almost impossible to break, from either himself or the ones he cut down. This time was different, however. He was able to fight in such a way before possibly because of his sheer confidence, or rather overconfidence that he could rout his foes with ease,thus fueling his actions to the point where they could be considered almost miraculous. In other words, he had very little to think about at the time;rescuing the princess from a fate that fortunately did not take place and cutting down the ones that layed a hand on her. This time, he had to think about the princess and Cesar escaping, the well being of his master and Black Dynamite, his injuries overcumbering his fighting style, the possibility of there being more of the blind bandits somewhere in the forest, and the whereabouts of Zechal respectively. With such stakes, the best possible thing he could afford was a clear mind and an even lighter sword.

His breath caught its cycle again, and he charged forward swiftly towards the bandit. Before the enemy could even raise up his sword as his response to bring it down upon him, Huey had already flanked to his righthand side, sliding on his heels and rotating his body to end up behind him. He then jumped up with his sword in hand, having a horizontal slash ready in the chamber. In a brief yet vivid glimpse, Huey saw the bandit's right ear twitch violently. He held his breath and braced for impact as the bandit quickly shifted his weight downward and twisted around to unleash his sword down on the young warrior. His ears rang with high pitch sound waves as the two blades clashed, and felt the weight of Huey's sword against his own. His eyebrow raised in shock, as the weight was something he hardly expected to feel from one so young, as it equated to his own years of experience. He smiled at such a notion, and even smiled larger as he felt his blade leave the struggle as Huey slid back on the balls of his toes feeling the force of the deadlock himself.

Huey had a clear understanding on how his opponent was able to predict such actions from his previous clash, and his previous encounter with his kind. Despite being visually impaired, they still had full awareness of their surroundings via strong receivals of sound waves paired with excellent body coordination. The latter of course would normally imply that the one in question had fast reflexes, but Huey could tell it was something more than just that alone. Reflexes didn't amount to much in a fight as both combatants would already be fighting at the peak of their reactionary motions, and could be able to pick off any kind of attack heading their way. The way the bandit pulled it off was extraordinary to say the least.

The bandit lulled over him, waving his sword around along with his ears twitching once again, most likely to pick up movement. Witnessing this, Huey came to a sudden realization.

He then breathed in through his nose, and held the air inhaled in his mouth. He then arched his back slowly and held his sword close to his face, with the hilt nearly touching his cheek. Pulling his right foot and standing on the ball of his foot, he slowly crept into a jumping motion. The bandit picked up the small rustling of the grass in his left ear, and predicted what action the boy was going to perform next.

As if one cue with his grin, Huey sprang into action and lept forward to the bandit, closing the gap that was formed between them in the last clash. The bandit moved in on the young samurai as his body drew closer to him and brought his sword up, ready to the give a horizontal slice that drive near his ribs, hitting several vital areas in the process. While still in midair, Huey brought his sword over his head while the bandits sword nearly touched his skin to the point he felt the very cold steel touch him.

In that moment where time almost stood still, Huey twisted his body in a half circle motion, putting an unbelivable strain on his muscles in his upper region, only made worse by his still sore body. He gritted his teeth as he felt the very tissue of his muscles tear apart greatly as he commanded his body to take this almost impossible motion in such a state. Turning his body managed his evasion of the bandits blade, if somewhat slightly as he felt the edge of his blade draw through his side from his abdomen. At the same time, he brought down the holding frame of his sword over his head and brought it down on the bandits back region, cutting clean through his rugged robes, making a neat mark that ran with red.

The bandit screeched in sudden pain as he felt the sensation in droves at how quick yet agile it was to his body. As his blade left his mark, Huey felt his lack of salve push through yet again,as it messed his up his landing, causing him to fall on his back on one of the stumps by the fireplace causing a rush of electricity that his whole body felt, though his brain felt it more. His hands refused to let go of his sword as a million sparks in his body reiterated for him do so.

The blind bandit arched his back forward, seething through his teeth at the pain his body was alerting him too. Soon his grin returned as he felt the warm sensation of his blood run down his back and the way it was delivered upon him. He then stood back up straight, turning around facing Huey as he struggled to stand himself up from his own blunder.

"Impressive, young one!" He said in a gleeful tone. Huey slid off the stump on his back with his laid face down in the dirt,and his eyes glued with darkness once more. The bandit pivoted closer to his position with his sword drawn down to his feet, indicating a lower stance. Huey quickly deduced from the angle, his swing would allow more speed to his attacks. Given his reflexes, it wasn't a far off speculation. Gritting his teeth through the pain, Huey hastly stood up and stood in his stance once more. The bandit of course, picked up on this action and moved into attack, leading on with a burst of slices that aimed downward toward Huey's head, though he was quick enough to block them with his steel, producing the ringing sound of the blades clashing. The noise alone sent shockwaves through the bandits overcompensated ears, fueling his conveyance on where the next strike would go during his flurry which had seemed never ending to the young samurai. He blocked when the attack seemed too close, and dodged when it seemed to far for him to predict its' trajectory at such a close range.

His sword then went for a scooping strike right near Huey's ankles in the middle of his string. Huey noticed it only at the break of a millisecond, and managed to hop a few feet away from the path of the bandits' blade, suffering only a minor scuff from its edge. He then remembered the last strike was a similar delivery of speed, though its reach had been modified slightly to make up for the bandits' lack of range when it came to his surroundings. At least that how it seemed in Huey's mind. An opponent of this matter was foreign to him, despite the training that would prepare him to face all manner of a person that he would cross swords with.

 _Guess I'll think outside the box_.

If anything, thinking was his closest element to fighting, according to his master even more so it was his de facto during a battle. _A warrior uses his mind first, and his instincts second,_ he always used to say, but things were never that simple in just concept alone. Execution was everything in the real world. Huey deflected what seemed to be the remains of the bandits string of attacks as the flurry came to a sudden halt right by Huey's torso area. He anticipated a quick thrust of the blade, and quickly vaulted backwards a few feet away from him before even giving him a chance to act. Upon landing, the bandit had already made himself very close to his position and was ready to attack once more with an overhead strike, with his ears twitching rapidly to predict his next movement, but Huey was already one step ahead of him.

As the bandit's sword came down to strike on Huey's head, Huey took a deep breath, slamming his blade down toward the ground until it stuck in the dirt and used the weight of the sword to hold himself up for a few seconds in the air, and within the process dodge the trajectory of the blade traveling. He then used the momentum from the dodge to swing himself outward from his opponents range of attack with his hand held tight on the swords grip, though just barely as he felt steel brush past his skin, feeling the very external material rip off. His body swung high towards his opponents upper range surrounding his head and let loose with a swift kick that scored on the back of the bandit's head, pushing every ounce of strength he had within the strike. The bandit felt both the surprise and the bluntness of the unexpected counterattack , as it was one that even he counldn't detect, given his opponent was in a position that prevented from being able to. Not being able to detect an opponent whose feet aren't even on the ground, young Huey figured through his break neck fighting.

Within seconds, the bandit went down onto the ground, and Huey himself fell out of his midair flight, feeling the hard impact, as well as it adding to his injuries. Several of his muscles, including the injuries he received during the fight still writhed him as he tried to quickly pick himself up, squirming all around to balance his lifting off the dirt. He carefully but swiftly leaned up, noticing his opponent hunched over slightly with his hand on the back of his neck attempting to soothe his own injury, and he also spotted the familiar sight of his sword dug into the ground.

 _I can end this._ He sought after that very thought, gritting his teeth to summon his strength yet again. Grab the sword and finish him, his hands kept telling him. But the easiest path isn't always the correct one as he was slowly knew that he would be dectected the minute his feet would start their motion once more.

He counted his seconds, breathing with every beat to time it correctly. Settle the feet in the dirt, with his hands grabbing a handful for a starting grip..He knew he had one shot at this. The latest second he counted, he saw the bandit's bodie animate, his ears twitching to detect any semblence of any movement. _The minute you see the opening._

Huey dashed forward on the ball of his foot, extending his right arm forward to grab the hilt of his sword. Sensations of anxiety sparked in his stomach as the air around him suddenly changed, and his eyes found a new sight. The bandit on his feet, with barely any signs of fatigue or even his own injury slowing him down. How did that happen? His timing, the start of his beats from his breath. Everything should have been as he predicted. Time froze around Huey as the very breath he took got stuck on that one off beat as the bandit's sword rose up to strike him down before he could close the remaining distance between him and his sword. His eyes flashed at the blade's steel stretching over his entire view,as did a million pictures of events gone by. Things he didn't recognize, things he had forgotten. The end has been there to greet him.

"DIEEEEEEE!" The bandit yelled at the top of his lungs with a force that could rival the wind itself with how it sent chills down young Huey's very core.

 _Not like this! Not like THIS!_ His left arm flew free across his head. Out of his hand flew it, the small pebble that darted toward its target. Even without aiming, Huey knew. It went, it went, and it did. That small rock landed an impact on the bandit's wrist, knocking oose his grip on the sword even as it came down. He screamed out in pain as he grabbed the inflicted hand. The window of chance was open for Huey to take in stride. His right hand scored across the hilt of his sword grabbing it fully from the ground, and brought it forward in one single motion. The silver gleam pierced through his enemies through the leftmost region of his chest, although his aim was slightly off from his heart, he still hit several arteries to warrant a fatal injury. Huey pushed the blade forward more, hearing the cacophonous sound of blood and sinew clashing with steel, and with his hand being the conductor. The bandit's mouth gaped open in surprise, but could just as well know the face of his opponent even without being able to witness it.

"Go ahead...and join your brothers..." Huey said with hoarse throat before finally removing the blade with single pull feeling the single jerk of the bandit's body as it left. Soon the body flopped on the ground, spread across from every part of it. Huey relaxed as he felt time around him moving normally once more to his speed, and the breath flowing freely back into his body. His body ached all over, his arms felt heavy like they were carrying rocks in his veins. His legs were ready to give out on each other, and he wanted nothing more to comply. But he knew he couldn't. His training wouldn't let him. His blade was warm with fresh blood warped around it. He was the careful type, so he had done body check, quickly bringing the tip of his sword to the bandit's neck, ending his uncertainty as the blood gushed out from his throat.

"Now...I have to find the others." He lashed his sword in the air to quickly remove the fresh blood, splattering all over the trees before inserting it back in his sheathe. Composed with his pangs to be his only driving force, he pressed on deeper into the forest.

 _Hope those two stay out of trouble._

The darkness of the forests seemed to stretch out forever as the two ran at top speed, rushing in and out of several shrubs, banking several turns at every tree that they thought to have passed. Caesar came to a stop at tree that seemed to be split down the middle with the princess bumping slightly behind him before stopping her running track.

"What's wrong?" She said in a concerned tone. His hands traced the lines of the path that split down through the very bark of the tree. His face stuck with disbelief at his inspection.

"This tree...the wood on it is elm."

"Elm?" She uttered as if she were letting the word digest for the first time.

"It's one of the most durable woods in the world. Even the most skilled blacksmith with the finest steel can only hope to make so much of a chip into it. But this."He stroked his chin."This is a clean cut." And then, as if on cue, the corner of his eye showed him several more trees. All with the same condition as the one standing in front of them. His stomach started to churn at the very sight of it all, with Jazmine herself being rather put off by it. While the mention of thewood itself was a new thing to her, the task of cutting through impossible material is nothing new in her country. Part of the many tasks of the Esmarian military academy is being able craft a blade that can split a tiny piece of blackwood. Easy enough through concept, but even harder in execution, as blackwood was more unbreakable than solid steel, so much so that a sizable amount of impact would downright shatter any warriors blade.

"So if what you say it true, and that this is anything to go by." She turned in a full circle on her heel, acknowledging all of the collective evidence of their worries."This was either done by a masterfully crafted blade, or masterfully skilled warrior."

"Which do you think it is? The former or the latter?"

Jazmine looked Caesar, stunned at the very gall of his question.

"You would ask a princess her opinion of warriors? A field that is far removed from the school of politics."

"With all due respect your highness?" He turned around to face her."I would appreciate it if you not think of me as naive as Huey _-dono_ , or as abrasive as Dynamite- _dono_. I've been around long enough to know and recognize the signs of those who have seen battle, or have at least have some kind of familiarity with it. Your robes, they are white. But your hands...they have been stained red longer than you might think."

Jazmine felt uneasy at the comment, but was firm in her expression.

"I have only seen warriors from a distance and I admit I have had some training, but I know nothing of the art of killing Caesar."

Caesar sighed exaspartingly before he spoke again."So you continue with the lies I see. I'm starting to think that Dynamite- _dono_ was on to something here." He shrugged reluctantly. "But no matter, I regret even letting the conversation derail like this."

"I understand your criticism, don't think they are unfounded. I hail from a militarized country, it's only natural you would think such things. But there's a world of difference from the study of battle to the experience of battle." Jazmine felt a tingling in the back of her neck, feeling the latter of the two for herself today, though because of Huey, not to anyone elses knowledge.

"I suppose you're right."

"But I bet Zechal would know something about it."

"I agree, although." Caesar scanned the area around them."We haven't seen him in some time. Do you think he was attacked?"

"It's possible." Jazmine painfully dwelled on the possibility, but quickly perked up when she said."But I'm positve he will make it out alright and come to our aid!"

"I see you have the utmost faith in him."

"Of course. He's always protected me ever since I could remember. He has never failed in his duty. He is also a very strong fighter back in our country, so he will not be taken down so easily!" She said cheerfully.

"Is that right?" Caesar nodded amicably."Well, you're certain, I suppose I should offer my faith that both him and Huey- _dono_ both make it out all right."

Jazmine wondered on Caesar's choice of words. Huey and Zechal were certainly young and talented warriors, but they were leagues apart in terms of skill compared to Afro and Black Dynamite. Did he state that with the exclusion with these thoughts in mind?

"Anyway, we should keep moving. Whoever did this to the tree must still be in the vicinity, and in numbers. We must be extremly cautious to not wander into an ambush." Jazmine nodded assuredly,though took the time to notice the lack of weapon on Caesar's person.

"I take it that you are not really equipped for battle?"

"Hmm?" Caesar looked down, confirming her observation."Oh, I am no warrior my lady. I simply observe and report for Wuncler- _sama_. I am not required to fight."

"But you travel with samurai."She seemed puzzled."Wouldn't behoove you to have at least some form of self defense for your respitiore?"

"It is because I travel with samurai, I have no need for such things." He said while patting himself, smiling innocently."Besides, I find weapons completly unneccessary."

"I see." Jazmine sounded dejected, but shook her head, deciding to leave well enough alone, especially when the situation doesn't exactly call for a full length interrogation as Caesar pointed out earlier. All she could do was accept it as it was."Well then, shall we go then."

Caesar nodded, and the two ran back onto the traveling path that lead to the north of the forest, but taking at a moderate pace. It would have been bad for the soul to run into an enemy attack at break neck pace, especially from being exhausted from said running. The forest was thick and lush, and presented many opportunities for sneak attacks as they well knew.

Zechal sighed with his strained arms lifting about ten pounds worth of firewood. He might have overdone in it with his search, but felt justified in providing the best possible warmth of a fire for the princess. He seemed smug, almost proud in such a menial task. Most likely because it would mean that he had gotten a leg up on Huey in some shape or form, no matter how small the task it seemed.

Heaving through his steps, he found a small stump just a few feet away. He placed the logs on the stump, perfectly balanced both by weight and size, and took a second to take a breather. He pulled his sword out of his sheath, checking the gleam of the steel and for any knicks or chips. It had been some time since he had been to a forger to reshape his sword, though he probably wasn't to upset about such a fact, whatwith the kind of action this country would have for him. He wouldn't dare use the word boredom to describe any lack thereof, not in the presence of the princess anyway.

Never would he ever think of anything associated with the idea concerning his charge. He thought of every opportunity to serve her and guard her well being as both an honor and privilege that only so few are granted. To be allowed to protect the life of the one who will one day inherit an entire kingdom, and all the power that reins from its army. It would made him in way that using proud would only barely scratch the surface of his feelings. A slight chuckle came from him, thinking back on the first day he met her many years ago. Fresh out of his military training, his first assignment would be to guard a member or the royal family.

 _Her small hands reached out to mine as we spotted each other across from the throne room. I could barely hear the encouraging words that were exchanged from my king and my father. Her eyes dug into my very heart, seeing the flow of the air itself, visible to my naked eye, and my body absolutely frozen from the abundance of presence from one with only five years on the earth. I was entranced._

The young knight came to his senses before he delved any deeper into his thoughts. The weight of the logs brought him down from his clouds like a heavy anchor. He proceeded through the forest, on his way back to the camp. He paused for a brief second to observe his surroundings and try to recall in which direction the camp was. Stuck at the fork that lead to the west and to the east. Imagining something of a coin toss in his head, he decided to head to the easternmost direction, trusting fate, and most importantly his luck judging by the assured nod.

"Never have I seen such lush greenery for such a homely place." Zechal said to himself as his eyes darted around. He was geniunely impressed by his surroundings, and would have loved nothing more to bask in it a while longer. His feelings toward such an ambience most likely was of influence by the princess, a fact that he himself was aware of. He wondered if such an admiration would be seen as too sacchirine for the expected tastes for a man of his militant stature. To be seen as both a battle hardned warrior, but to also be a man of sensitivity to others feelings. Zechal couldn't recall the last time such a conversation was glossed over with his father, the very leader of the warriors he claimed to be apart of. As two soldiers...not likely, but as a father and son...

His thought was interrupted when he heard a large sound emanating from the bushes, causing him to come to a complete stop in his tracks. He completely dropped his carriage, freeing his hand, and placing his right on the sheathe of his sword with his body already in his stance. His steadied his breathing to get a feel for the air around him and sense for any disturbances. His admiration for the atmostphere of such lushful places also served him as a meaningful guide for inspecting disturbances within the flora and fauna for any signs of intruders. He scanned the grasses for footprints that caused recedence within the roots. His nose inhaled and exhaled the smells around him for any scents that could come from sources that left such remnants of presence.

He quickly turned around as he felt the wind shift in that direction, nothing. He felt another shift westward, turning to find nothing yet again. He was patient in enemy detection, and felt no distress about not immediately finding his target. It was all about the battle itself that was the fun part after all. Seconds later, he heard a twig snap just a few feet behind him. Snapping his neck around with the rest of his body following, he spotted a blind bandit heading towards him screaming wildly. He most likely knew his cover would have been blown sooner rather than later, and went for the desperate kill. Zechal smiled precociously at such a notion, but welcomed the challenge anyway as he focused to draw his sword.

As the bandit came within his striking zone, a flash of a familiar white gleaming steel burst through his body, stopping only right in front of the slightly surprised Zechal. The blade was filled with carvings of symbols etched in a language he had never seen before in any of the historic scrolls that sat in the great halls of the Esmarian Chronicle Temple, which had detailed events from man's first breath, or so the elders claim. Blood leaked from the broadside down to the tip until it dripped in tiny droplets into the dirt. The image of the bandit's corpse cradled in the eyes of Zechal as he could barely move from his spot as he mentally tried to process the events. His breathing flowed naturally as best as it could in the moment, remembering his training to always stay calm in the most non-copacetic situations.

Suddenly the blade was yanked out of the bandits stomach, allowing the the body to fall to the ground by Zechal's feet. Instead of his eyes lingering on it, his eyes shot straight ahead, to the origin point of the his would be target's killer.

The first thing that popped out from the shadows was an unfamiliar figure. What stood, was a man that was practically built with more volume than a trebuche, easily towering over Zechal. The sheer height was such a factor, his neck had stretched far back to even make eye contact with him. He had asian features, clothed in blue rags for a open shirt with his iron clad abs front and center for the world to see, and green pants held up together by a yellow sash. The weapon Zechal saw was hoisted by him in his right hand. It looked like some kind of staff with a steel blade attached at the farther end, though with a curved exterior along with a thinner edge. The only weapons he had seen so far since he had been in this land had counted the katana the samurai wield, but his impressions of them couldn't help but be of admiration.

The large man looked down at Zechal in his combat stance. He couldn't help but notice his constant fidegeting around while staring up at him. The man gave a large grin of astonishment. The boy standing in front of him was an eager one. With his free hand, he pointed down at the blind bandit's body.

"Know him?" He said. The man spoke in a gruff, almost primitive like tone that Zechal had to take a second to process his words.

"No. He was trying to kill me." Zechal replied back in an honest voice.

"He try kill you...why?"

Zechal took a minute before responding, trying to fish out an objective enough answer in his head.

"He was trying to rob me." He quickly picked up the dropped wooden logs by his feet."For my firewood. I was on my way back to my camp to rejoin my companions, and then he stopped me, said he wanted it for himself."

"He try rob you...for wood?"

"...Yes..." He said nonchalantly. _That is the dumbest excuse for a robbery ever Zechal._ Kicking himself in his head for the response, the large man crept down to properly talk to the young knight.

"Try and rob for wood...In forest?"

It was a stupid excuse and he knew it, though his eyes still focused straight ahead. His body steeled for the possible, or as it was coming to be, the inevitable. The big and gruesome sized him up, seeing everything that was to offer should something else turn out for him.

"You were about to fight him, yes?" Zechal nodded. "Are you warrior?"

"I am." Zechal took a deep breath. He always took a deep breath before doing something stupid."What's it to you?"

A grin flashed on the mans face. Zechal saw white, clear white gleam. His body jerked back on pure instinct, not even saving time to see the man's expression.

"I fight strong warriors." He balanced his mighty weapon on his shoulder. Zechal felt the earth move from the force alone. "Are you strong? Little man?"

Fear grasped his throat as his breathing slowed, heart pounding like heavy footsteps so loud everything drowned out. His hand grasped his sheath, feeling its crafts along the material, making him feel at ease with the items of his homeland. His mind became silent. His mouth opened.

"I am." The image of Huey appeared in his mind."I'm the strongest there is."

 **CHAPTER 10 END**


End file.
